


More than meets the eye

by azure_lemon



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cultural Misunderstandings, F/F, F/M, Hurt Loki (Marvel), Hurt/Comfort, Loki (Marvel) Needs a Hug, Odin's A+ Parenting (Marvel), Power Dynamics, Protective Tony Stark, Secret Identity, Shapeshifter Loki (Marvel), Slave Loki (Marvel), Slavery, Slow Burn, Thor is a good brother, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-13 17:26:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 10
Words: 29,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29157339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/azure_lemon/pseuds/azure_lemon
Summary: After his failed invasion, Loki is transported to Asgard and put on trial, but the sentence isn't the one he expects to hear. Being left alive is no mercy, not when the former prince is being demoted to the slave and sold to Alfheim. Nothing about his new life is easy, but at least he manages to shapeshift in time to spare himself additional humiliation.As the time passes, Loki adjusts to the fate he can't escape. Will the reappearance of Tony Stark in his life change anything for him?
Relationships: Loki/Tony Stark, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 119
Kudos: 158





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [silver_drip](https://archiveofourown.org/users/silver_drip/gifts).



> This is basically the answer to the silver_drip comment (prompt?) under Limmet's ''Claimed.'' She wrote ''This kinda makes me want to see a Slave!Loki fic where he shapeshifted to not look like himself before he was sold to save himself some humiliation. He somehow is acquired by Tony who he falls in love with, but knows he can never show who he actually is.'' I just couldn't stay away from such an idea. Silver, I know it took so long, but I wanted to finish my previous longfic first.  
> They’re so many slave-Loki-fics, so I’m not sure I’ll be able to write something remotely original, but I’ll do my best.  
> As for the warnings, generally, read the tags. When I tag slow burn, I mean it. Seriously. Don’t expect romance anytime soon. Loki is half-broken when Tony meets him.  
> Post-Avengers, Avengers and Thor I, Iron Man I and II compatible

It’s here, it’s now. It’s not how he imagined being back in Asgard would be, but now he knows it must have ended like that from the start. This is a sheer irony, so he, the Trickster, should be, in fact, amused, despite the gloomy circumstances. He’s back home, or rather what he once considered home, but this time he’s a prisoner, a criminal on trial and he knows there won’t be an acquittal, not in his case. 

Memories from previous life flood into his mind, so distant that it almost seems to him they are someone’s else. Times when he was circled by servants, ready to obey his orders, at his beck and call. Even more distant memories, when he was actually worshiped by Midgardians in these cold lands, so different from Asgard, the golden realm, itself.

Since he discovered he’s been adopted it was a rollercoaster of emotions, a downward spiral. The time he spent since falling from Bifrost till the start of the invasion on Midgard is strangely vogue in his head, memories rather blurry, but it doesn’t matter anyway. He tried to invade the Earth, he wreaked havoc, he took innocent lives, there was no possible excuse despite how miserable he felt. Defense by attack. Classic move. He might have been influenced by the Stones, his rage got fueled, but in the end of the day, the Spectre only make his actions more exaggerated and he was the one to make a final decision. In retrospect, he was acting like a half-crazy, power-lust maniac. It was mostly a façade, but it doesn’t matter anymore. What’s been done is done and now he’s to suffer consequences for his deeds. He vowed to himself to stay tall and face death with dignity. Because he knows all too well that’s what he’s going to get. Okay, there is still a matter of imprisonment if he’s lucky. However, he’s perfectly aware of the moods in Asgard, he’s been never the loved prince, that was Thor, always Thor (funny, but Loki can’t hold a grudge against him, not anymore, this is just how the Thuderer is), he was the strange one, with his love for magic and books, with his distanced behavior, so he doesn’t hold his hopes high for clemency. At least now he gained the knowledge why he didn’t fit in. A stranger in his own land. He had never been innocent, but it almost feels this way now, comparing to what he had done, what he had been through since the day of the Thor’s interrupted coronation. He paradoxically gave his brother a favor ( _Thor is not your brother. Not anymore_ , screams the merciless voice in his head), but this won’t act in his defense, seen as the another act of the vile creature. What can you expect from the damned blood of the Frost Giant, the mortal enemies of Asgard? Everybody knows Jotuns are not to be trusted.

He wants to scream, but his demeanor remains indifferent. The list of his numerous crimes is recited in loud, even, emotionless voice. The Aesir Lords and Ladies look at him with anger mixed with contempt, clearly indicating he should be ashamed of himself, even if some of his deeds were done when he was within his rights as a rightful ruler of Asgard. The truth is, he reached the point he’s just too tired to care, too empty inside. He hadn’t taken the throne by force or even by a trick, it was handed to him, but he’s Loki. He’s guilty until proven innocent and he knows too well nobody cares enough to prove him innocent, except Frigga maybe. Her sad eyes are just another reminder of what he had done and as Norns his witness, he’s not innocent, even if somebody was willing to speak in his defense. So far, everything is going just as he predicted, and he had lots of time to muse about his fate, once he was able to think clearly, free from the Spectre’s subtle yet strong power.

Thor, this golden child of the realm, is sitting next to Odin, looking terribly upset. Once again, Loki could find this terribly ironical. He wouldn’t be surprised if Thor was upset about him, because he is just so noble he worried even about enemy only for the sake of the old times. Such a pity this doesn’t go with self-preservation and thinking before acting.

It’s rather unfair. This is his trial, he’s finally, finally in the spotlight, how Midgardains call it, and his mind still revolves around Thor. The Thunderer always used to steal the show. Odin, on the contrary doesn’t show much emotions, as usual. Funny thing as these schemes keep repeating. Loki knows they’ll all be all right. Thor will be the hero, who beat down his treacherous brother (or the one who used to be his brother), Odin will be a stoned-face ruler and judge, who will inevitably forget he used to have another son and Frigga, well, she might suffer the most and once again it reminds Loki life is so unfair, she’s the one who doesn’t deserve to suffer, as her greatest crime was allowing herself to love a boy who turned out to be a murder. He can only hope that maybe with time the pain will subside and she will be able forget about him. Luckily, she has one more child and at least Thor isn’t a disappointment. She can still feel pride and joy in her life, at some point, in the future, when Loki will be a fading memory only. He never belonged here in the first place, to this family, to this royal quarters, to this realm of warriors.

Despite all this, now he forces himself to listen. One of the nobles is speaking, no surprisingly in favor of sentencing, but this isn’t what catches Loki’s attention.

‘’Death would be too merciful,’’ argues the Lord. ‘’Accused here won’t even stand a chance to repent. Look at him, he doesn’t even show a tiny bit of remorse.’’

Remorse? Loki is too hollow and worn out to feel much. He suffered so greatly already. Always an outcast, a misfit, a trickster. Liar, thief, murderer. These words were shoved so many times into his throat that he started to believe it. He stands tall, refusing have these last shreds of pride taken from him. This is what he thought himself to do. However, he has to admit, he’s rather surprised, having assumed they all would be in favor of capital punishment.

Thor fidgets nervously, as if it was his fate on the line. Hero to the very end. Funny, how the great part of this mess started from Loki trying to prove himself he’s just as good as Thor, if not better. Now at least he knows he would have never made Odin proud, no matter what he did, no matter how much he tried. After all this, at least he’s wiser in one department. Not that he can make use of this knowledge in any way, except maybe accepting it before he’s gone.

The room is quiet, except for the Lord saying something about slavery. Interesting concept, Loki has to give that to him, but he barely can focus on the words. These chains are heavy, making staying still a struggle. He just wants it to be over. Let it just be over. At least he won’t be forced to look at Mother’s sad eyes anymore. He tries to convince himself Frigga isn’t his mother, she never was, but even Liesmith can’t lie to himself.

The whole trial doesn’t last long, which doesn’t surprise Loki in any bit. After all, there’s not much deliberation; everybody knows what he had done and his motives doesn’t matter. Asgardian justice was never known from leniency and Aesirs are much more inclined to ask what happened than why it happened. 

Odin is completely impassive while announcing the verdict.

‘’Loki, the fact you’re my son can’t grant you the clemency, just the opposite. As the royalty you should have shone with example.’’

Shone with example, hmm? Cause Thor did, right? Of course he did. No matter what Thor said or did he shone with example. Loki had already stopped deluding himself it was the other way. He just wished he could have stopped thinking about his former brother even in such a moment. Now at least he can understand fully that from the his gravest offence was not being Thor. Probably too late, but better late than never.

‘’Your actions had greatly disappointed us,’’ Odin carries on, unaware of adoptive son’s trail of thoughts. ‘’You turned out unworthy of your titles and status and hereby you’re stripped from these and demoted to the lowest level in hierarchy. You are to serve as the slave till the rest of your days, in retribution for the pain and chaos you caused.’’

Oh no. No, no, no. He hadn’t even considered it. This isn’t over? His suffering has just begun? He won’t be dead, even though he probably will soon wish he was.

***

It’s been nearly four years, four extremely long and hard years since Loki’s life got completely altered. He doesn’t know whether Odin planned it beforehand or changed his mind in the last moment under the noble’s suggestions, but one way or another, he definitely know how to wound Loki the most.

His whole life Loki assumed he knew what slavery means. Truth being told, he never paid much heed to this concept, not having much contact with the palace slaves, relying on his magic and free servants with his everyday duties. He never was the great fan of slavery; he opposed, even, but in fact he never spared much thought about it. He was never deliberately cruel, rather mostly indifferent. Slavery had been Aesir way long before he was even born, so he never questioned it much, not that his voice would have changed anything. He might have been the prince, but not _this right_ prince.

Anyway, only being enslaved himself opened his eyes and made him understand fully how horrible and inhumane concept it is.

It’s not easy for him, it wouldn’t have been easy for any freeman and he’s the deity who not so long ago took an active part in conquering Midgard and demanding humanity to fall to their knees in front of him, to submit, to accept his power, his superiority. He had always been proud and independent, since his childhood, which made the whole adaptation process even more difficult. At the same time, he is the snake, the chameleon, the adjustable being, so step by step, with quite a lot of persuasion, mere memories of which still make him shiver, even after quite a long time, convinced him to spare himself suffering and simply obey. It was easier said than done, having lost control over everything in the blink of eye, but he gritted his teeth and swallowed his pride. In the beginning, he thought about escaping a lot, about leaving this horror behind and starting fresh somewhere far, but with time, what was supposed to be a method to survive until he found a way out evolved into a voice in his head, the voice telling him to submit, repeating him that there’s no other way and there’s no salvation for him. Besides, he had seen what happened to those who rebelled and this isn’t the fate he wishes to share.

Odin found a method to bind his magic, but couldn’t take his normal life-span, which isn’t exactly any kind or comfort for Loki. Considering how the things are going, it is rather safe to assume he still has thousands years of toiling under the whip, which is a plain disaster for the former prince, especially with mandatory shift to a manual work.

Losing magic is equally painful as the loss of freedom. It has been integral part of him since birth, so being deprived of something so deeply ingrained in him is like losing a limb, if not worse, making Loki doubt he would ever fully come to terms with that aspect of his punishment. It was a little bit of comfort when discovered that even Odin, the mighty Allfather, couldn’t suppress his abilities fully. However, it unfortunately didn’t change much for him. He had only enough magic left for one thing- while the escape was impossible, he did the second best thing he could, which was changing his appearance almost completely. It was the risky move, but he had to try, especially considering that he didn’t have much to lose anyway.

He sensed a relatively good opportunity when he was being shipped off to Alfheim. He got informed that his mere presence at Asgardian land was the disgrace, which was presumably supposed to be another blow, but Loki wasn’t the one to cry for his former fatherland. Staying would have only been another reminder about his disgrace, myriads of things reminding him of what he used to be. It was easier to slip into the new role in the another realm. Not really turning over a new leaf, but close enough.

The journey was long and there were hundreds of other slaves, kept confined in the dark, wet quarters, nobody would paid much attention to them, viewing them as the nameless faceless mass, not even making an exception for the former prince, fallen so low, which was a blessing in disguise for Loki.

Step by step, he modelled his new look, the one which stayed with him to this day. His hair are still dark, but noticeably shorter, they would have been cut anyway, the usual procedure concerning the slaves, so he chose lesser of two evils and simply disguised them. Losing his locks hurt more than he expected, even if considering his predicament this should least of his problems. At least he found a little comfort in deciding that there’s not much harm in letting his eyes stay their natural emerald. Except of that, he disguised himself completely. He concealed his sharp cheekbones to make his face more gentle-looking and trust-inspiring, gave his skin more golden color, took away a couple of inches from his height and generally took extra care to avoid any features which could draw any unwanted attention to him. Never in his life he wanted to look so average.

Soon after arriving in Alfheim he got sold with the bunch of his fellow slaves into the service of one of the local Lord’s, who was constantly short-handed when it came to staff. Slowly and not without difficulties, Loki managed to blend in, even if happened by the cost of turning into the shell of his former self. The life is cruel, the overseers are often vicious and he is going hungry rather frequently, he is being violated in more than one way, but at least he isn’t generally treated worse than the vast majority of other slaves in this places. This is what he repeats himself, when he thinks he can’t take it anymore, when he dreams about a warm meal and the uninterrupted few hours of sleep. Should his secret come out, his fate would be undeniably much worse, even he sometimes can’t imagine it could be worse than he already is going through. He’s on relatively friendly terms with a few fellow slaves, but with nobody to confide in, so he’s forced to carry this burden alone. He’s mostly on his own, but that’s actually not a novelty to him. He’s trying not to think much, as it only brings him more grief and anguish, but having a lot of work certainly helps to avoid that. There’s always something to attend around the household. The former Trickster works diligently, doing the assigned chores, but this doesn’t mean he always manages to avoid the wrath of freeman, deserved or not. He doubts he’ll ever get used to it and learn to ignore the pain, but this is his reality now and he has to face it, whether he likes it or not. At first he repeats to himself that with them knowing his identity it would have been worse, than he lets the memories go, as clinging on them only made him more miserable.

In this way days pass, week after week, month after month, year after year, until somebody, or rather someone, breaks the routine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First chapter behind us :) Now we knew Loki’s background in this story. I hope he’s at least semi-canonical despite this uncanonical setting. I promise to give you more details about that exactly happened to him as the story goes on. Let me know what you think so far.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You're the best guys. Thank you for all the kudos, comments, bookmarks and subscriptions. I'm amazed so many of you want to follow this fic, so I'm not keeping you waiting any longer.

What is he doing here? Oh, yes, business. If somebody would have told him five years ago one day he would be contracting with the realm called Alfheim he would have killed them with laughter and here he was, doing such a thing.

In fact, it’s been a little bit of coincidence. Recently all the Avengers retreated to their respective lives, staying in touch in case of emergency, but generally carrying on with their own plans and missions. When Tony thought it was finally the good time to focus on his relationship with Pepper, to build a home, something between them failed to work out. With time, both of them slowly came to the conclusion they weren’t made up for each other. They have parted as friends, but after being in the first such a serious long-term relationship, it wasn’t easy just to get over the break-up. He seriously thought he had found the one and he needed a while accept the fact he has to let Pepper go.

Anyway, Thor mentioned to him that another realms may be interested in human technology and with no Avengers missions and Pepper still handling majority of company affairs, he decided to give it a shot. Coming back to the empty Tower wasn’t on the list of his greatest desires, Earth wasn’t in any kind of danger that would have required him taking action and he had been rather curious about these lands who took for a myth not so long ago.

One way or another, he landed first in Asgard, than Vanaheim and now in Alfheim, making successful trades and exploring foreign realms. This Fairyland, however, is far from what he imagined magical place to be, once he accepted the magic is real. He’s contracting with real elves, for crying out loud. Sometimes he thinks all this is a very vivid dream, but they stubbornly refuse to disappear.

Alfheim isn’t as great as it one may assume at the first glance. Sure, everybody’s extremely polite and cater to his every whim, being a trusted friend of Prince Thor certainly helps a lot, but neither Asgard nor other realms remind him these lands of eternal happiness where magic users are all goodness and gentleness, from the books his nanny, or on the very rare occasion, his mum used to read to him. It’s rather depressing that injustice isn’t only earthly concept. In fact, the longer he stays in Alfheim, the more clearly he can tell so-called ‘’human-rights’’ or whatever they should be called here, are the foreign concept to these folks. The elves don’t strike him as the most kindhearted beings in the universe, that for sure. Despite all these downsides, he’s enjoying himself quite a lot. Being a guest of honor is undoubtedly fun and as the additional perk, the other realms keep his mind away from earthly worries. He knows that one day he’ll be back and will need to sort things out, but so far, he’s trying to push this thought out of his head, grasping a moment, focusing on here and now. This gives him much-coveted purpose.

This is awful, but he feels like he’s no longer needed. Neither his team calls for help (having such a thoughts make Tony feel selfish, he should be glad the Earth is safe) and his personal life is even bigger mess than before. It’s like being stuck in the deadlock- somehow he can’t be with Pepper without hurting her and himself as well, but he can’t just go back to his previous routine where he rarely spent more than a night with the same person. He turned to science, but despite his undying love for it, something is missing in his life. Maybe he needs another aim in life, even though he hasn’t got any idea what should it be. What can the man who has everything desire, after all?

***

Loki isn’t sure what he did to merit the overseer’s ire, but he’s suspects it might because of daydreaming. This offence is dangerously close to slacking off, which isn’t something freemen are the most fond of when it comes to slaves. Lazy slaves get punished, there’s no good excuse to justify this kind of misbehavior. In fact, there are no good enough excuses to justify any kind of misbehavior; maybe pets would get away majority of slight offences or maybe even more serious ones, provided Master or Mistress had a soft spot for them, but he’s just a low-class slave.

Kicks to the ribs always hurt immensely, even though he had endured much worse methods of chastisement. Without his magic, making him immune to the quite a few injuries and helping him heal faster from the more major ones, he’s basically defenseless. Of course, he’s been quite skilled in hand-to-hand combat, but this would only bring him more pain in his situation. He had learnt not to fight back rather quickly. He is for one thing, vastly outnumbered and for another, malnourished and weakened. No matter how much he would try, he’s on the lost position.

It’s just pain; he can take it, he’s been hurt before, many times. Luckily or unluckily for him, depending on how one may look at it, his tormentors rarely damaged him to the point he was unable to work, so let it hope this won’t be as bad. Hope is everything he has left, but in the same time it’s a very dangerous word for someone in his position. For a slave.

He considers himself lucky, this time he actually got off pretty lightly, considering how bad it could have been. It looks like elves have better pastimes than making sure he has learnt his lessons. After all, they can go back and be more diligent in meting out punishment next time they catch Loki on something, as no matter how much the former prince tries, there’s always the next time.

Not so long ago there weren’t many who dared to life their hands on him; his magic, fighting skills and the royal title guaranteed him more than enough protection. He might have not been Aesir’s favorite, but fearing for his safety and bodily integrity was never the option. However, now neither of these stands.

When he first hears about the visitor from Midgard, he merely shrugs. Whoever visits his Master, it doesn’t change anything in his life, maybe except giving him additional work. Okay, maybe Midgard element is something uncommon, but considering Loki’s previous experiences, especially these which vastly led him to be here today, he would gladly forgot such a realm even exists and carry on with his own dull and predictable life, but then the name resurfaces. At first, Loki assumes he must have misheard something or maybe his mind is mistaking things due to sleep deprivation. In his old life, when he had time and means to read books on the regular basis, he learnt that sometimes the memories tend to be muddled, their chronology mixed up. What any of the Avengers (except, understandably, Thor) would do in Alfheim anyway. The excited whispers, however, don’t cease. Apparently, the great warrior, Man of Iron, Anthony Stark of Midgard is coming with a visit. This doesn’t bode well for Loki for multiple reason.

For one thing, judging from the pieces and scraps of information, the former deity concludes Stark is somewhat of the revered guest and this undoubtedly will affect the fierceness of the overseers towards slaves, their pressure for everything to be perfect, service included. Besides, there’s no better way of dealing with their own frustrations than venting them on the slaves. Shall Master be displeased with them, it’s more than certain they will let it out on the slaves just because they can.

Except of that more mundane reason, how should he forget about his past life with Stark here? His presence is like open wound, a constant reminder of what Loki used to be, what he had lost irrevocably. The last thing he needs are myriads of thoughts distracting him from doing his chores and if he knows anything about the Midgardian, he’s a walking distraction.

Well, actually, maybe he’s worrying needlessly. He might not even see the guest. On the other hand, he’s a tad curious. Being basically cut off from the news, he can’t help but wonder whether Stark changed since he last saw him and what happened on Midgard since his attack. Four years aren’t a long period of time, but a lot could have changed since his enslavement.

He catches himself on letting his mind to wander again. Not good, especially considering he hasn’t even seen Stark. Once upon a time, he yearned for many things. He wanted power, love, acceptance, not necessarily in this order. It seems like a lifetime ago. Now, he just wants to stay relatively unharmed. Once he wished for his name to be known, to be repeated with reverence, now he would have gladly remained invisible. Funny, how priorities change with time.

He can’t allow himself to dwell on the past. What’s gone is gone. Now he just has to keep his head down. He reminds himself he’s entirely on other’s mercy. He had accepted his fate, Stark may be here or not, it’s shouldn’t matter for him. He just wishes he was less afraid. He’s so sick and tired of living in constant apprehension, but in the same time he knows there’s no other way. He needs to stay invisible and as unimportant as it’s possible, for his own sake. He might have fallen so low he basically bites the ground, but thankfully his self-preservations instincts are mostly intact. While he has basically no control over his own life, at least he can do that. He won’t draw attention to himself and he’ll fine. This plan should work, it has to.

During his years as the slave never has he been so thankful for the remaining spark for his seidr, the one which allowed him to shapeshift, even if with much difficulty. Norns know that if Stark was to find out about his presence he would have all the means to make former’s enemy life a picture of horror and misery. Not that Loki isn’t miserable now, but the experience tells him it always can be worse. With the Midgardian having every right to punish him as well as every reason to, either for the destruction of his city or for personal reasons, he would end up reminiscing the days of relative anonymity with affection.

He’s daydreaming again, the overseer already glares at him with a warning with his eyes. Loki knows better than not to catch this hint and scrubs the floor harder, silently promising himself he will be the epitome of the perfect slave from now on. Luckily, every visit has to end someday and with a stroke of luck the former sorcerer will soon forget that someone like Tony Stark even exists. He just has to survive a few next weeks. This does actually sound bearable. He has already been forced to sacrifice so much, it actually seems a minor inconvenience.

His aching hands and knees are much bigger one, but at least the pain distracts him from musing about the Midgardian. He shift a bit to alleviate the pressure and scrubs the floor even harder than before, concentrating fulling on leaving it spotless. He prefers menial works to the other type of tasks they are sometimes demanded from him, anyway. Finding a tiny comfort in that, he grits his teeth and does his job.

***

Tony has already lost the number of times he has attended similar events during his trip. It’s just like coming to one feast after another. Seriously, he could swear in this fairy realms these folks eat all the time. It seems like every occasion is a good one to throw a lavish party. Not that Tony is opposing to this philosophy in general, but after it turned into the prolonged pattern it starts to be a little tiring. He sincerely hopes it’s not because he’s getting old, but he has to admit he’s no longer twenty and ready to party all night long seven days a week.

Once again, he’s sitting at the table, cracking jokes and laughing, captivating his listeners’ attention, when something, or rather someone catches his eye.

There’s a slave quietly serving him another meal, as the many before him, but this one isn’t an elf. He looks human, so Tony guesses he’s most probably Vanir or Aeasir. Green irises meet his own brown for a split second, before the slave lowers his eyes submissively and hurries out of the room.

There’s something about him, something that makes Tony, who spent the better part of his life caring mostly about only himself, feel oddly protective. It’s kinda ironical, considering how many slaves are here, in this place, passing him, doing their chores, moving round quietly, so what makes this one so special? Maybe there’s something about these eyes, maybe it’s something else, but the Midgardian finds himself immediately drawn to him. It doesn’t seem that anyone else has noticed this short glance, but he has already learnt slaves are treated very much like a furniture here. Nobody stops to say hi to the sofa or armchair, nobody asks the table how it is doing, nobody tells the wardrobe to take a break. When the furniture is broken beyond the point of repair, it’s simply cast away and replaced without much sentiments.

A jovial pat pulls him out of his thoughts. Stark puts on a smile and carries on with the conversation. Whatever caught his interest, this doesn’t matter in the long run anyway. There are loads of these poor folks here and there’s no logical reason why he should be concerned about this particular one.

During the following days he doesn’t see the slave anymore, which almost leads him to forgetting about his existence. Tony’s busy contracting, the transaction is going well, much better than he expected it to be, so he’s focused almost fully on this topic. At least this is the field where he feels like a duck in the water, where he’s the best and doesn’t have to worry about anything, once he is fairly sure the trade will go well. In fact, it’s the matter of days until final negotiations are over and he may go home.

Despite the original reason for his journey, he kinda starts to miss home. He misses Rhodey and Happy, even Pepper to some extent, but he misses his own lab and Jarvis the most. There’s no place like home they say. The longer his trip lasts, the more inclined he is to agree with that.

He’s sitting in his quarters, finally having a moment for himself, so the commotion coming from the corridor disturbing his peace annoys him more than he wishes to. He initially ignores it, but some angry yelling makes him act before he thinks. He runs to check what is the cause for such a violent reaction and what he discovers definitely doesn’t please him.

The green-eyed slave, the same one that captivated his thoughts earlier, is lying on the floor in the puddle of the grayish water. The overseer, the burly, short elf is standing above him threateningly. Tony can basically feel the tension hanging in the air.

‘’I apologize, sir,’’ the slave whimpers, his entire frame shaking. ‘’I won’t do it again, I swear.’’

‘’No, you won’t,’’ the burly man says menacingly. ‘’I’ll make sure of that.’’

‘’What happened?’’ Asks the billionaire, even if it’s pretty obvious, but he wants to obtain a verbal answer to get the overseer’s attention away from the unfortunate slave.

‘’Nothing that requires your attention, Lord Stark,’’ says the elf politely, a sheer contrast from the tone he’s taking with the unfortunate victim. ‘’I apologize for your rest being disturbed.’’ After this words, he immediately turns back to the slave, roaring. ‘’Look at you, such a disgrace in front of the guest from Midgard. I will teach you not to be so clumsy.’’ 

It’s rather obvious the overseer prefers hands-on approach. Stark takes a deep breath.

‘’Stop. Just stop,’’ he demands, as the elf has just grabbed the slave by the rags and is about to strike.

 _This isn’t right,_ he wants to say, but this probably isn’t the best tactic. Meaning of what considered right or wrong happens to be sometimes very different than on Earth, as he just has a chance to witness.

‘’Shall I have him whipped?’’ Asks the overseer, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, releasing his grip on the slave, who falls gracelessly on the floor squeezing his eyes shut in silent despair, making Tony’s decision a really easy one.

‘’Give him to me,’’ he says without thinking. ‘’I want him.’’

Both the overseer and the slave send him a surprised glance. The elf seems troubled with such an outcome, but comes up with an answer rather swiftly.

‘’This one is damaged goods, Lord Stark. I’ll get you a better one, sir, if you wish for a slave on your own. Let me present you with the finest.’’

‘’I want this one,’’ blurts the inventor almost automatically. He needs to get the slave out of the danger zone as fast as possible. ‘’I want to acquire ownership.’’ These words burn his tongue, but it seems like only sensible solution.

‘’He’s all yours, Lord Stark,’’ promises the overseer, slightly startled by this instance, but this isn’t something for the engineer to care about.

‘’Let’s make this part of the deal,’’ he proposes in his businessman voice. ‘’One clause added to the contract and problem solved.’’

The elf nods with relief to these words. The Midgardian notes to remember about the formal details when the good times comes, but he has bigger problem in front of his eyes now.

He did it. He has just bought a slave. Pepper will kill him. All the other obstacles suddenly pale in the face of the wrath of his former girlfriend. He acted in good faith and would have done it again, but this didn’t make him any less worried about his own skin. Pepper certainly doesn’t look like that, but she could have be formidable in some situations. Situations like that, for example. Oh, what he had gotten himself into?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It went fast, didn’t it? The next chapters will be much more slow-paced. We’ll also get a glimpse from Loki’s perspective.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to clarify- none of the rape/non-con happens between Loki and Tony. These are mostly Loki’s memories/ thoughts/retrospects. They appear in this chapter (and will in the future ones as well, but they'll be non-graphic).  
> I decided no to go for the writing schedule, so I'll be posting as often as time and inspiration will allow me to.  
> Have fun with this chapter.  
> #poorloki #poortony

Pepper will kill him, without any doubt. If she was there, however, she would have known what to do. This was the skill Tony has been always jealous about. Now, she isn’t easily available whether he likes it or no, so he has to take it by the chin and play it right in every meaning of this word. The slave has in the meantime changed the position to the kneeling one, something that still manages to shock the Midgardian, even if he should have already get used to the fact things are different here.

Indecisiveness won’t play in his favor, so he makes a move quickly.

‘’Stand up and come with me,’’ he commands softly and motions with his hand for the slave to follow him to his temporary quarters, at the same time trying to get hold on the mess in his head. At least in the privacy of his own rooms he should have more time and space to figure things out. The slave, thankfully, follows him without any questions. Despite getting out of the Mr Pointy Ears watchful sight, Tony feels slightly nauseous.

It might be and probably is hypocrisy, that he cared enough to intervene in only one case. No matter how much he wishes to, he knows he can’t save everybody. In fact, he almost regrets adopting (okay, buying) this one as well, as this was definitely heat of the moment decision and he has no idea what he was thinking. He definitely isn’t known from protectiveness, but he has matured enough to deal with the consequences of his own actions.

It’s quite a relief to be back in his rooms, but it’s definitely not one to see the slave has sank to his knees again, his eyes fixed on the floor, so that his beautiful eyes remain hidden. Maybe it’s for the best, as the billionaire doesn’t need any additional distraction.

What shall he do? What exactly one does with the slave?

‘’So, what now?’’ He asks aloud, hoping against hope that his newest acquirement will provide him with some hints, as it doesn't look like someone is to show up and hand him a manual.

‘’I’m yours, Master. Yours to serve, yours to please,’’ the kneeling man answers.

This isn’t much help, but Stark suspects is kind of the standard response the slave are taught in this damned place. It would fit the bigger picture he has already witnessed more times that he would like to, but what he had seen filled him only with repulsion and strong vow he won’t follow this path. He desperately needs a drink and at the same time he knows he can’t allow himself to get intoxicated now. 

‘’Can you stand?’’ He asks for the start.

The slave gracefully does as he was told, allowing Tony to give him eventually a closer look. Poor guy looks like he’s been to hell and back, which makes superhero’s blood boil.

‘’How are you?’’ He asks cautiously, unsure how to form a question.

‘’I am well enough, Master,’’ Loki answers, still avoiding his new owner’s gaze.

‘’Do you have any injuries?’’ Stark carries on.

The Aesir hesitates. Nothing worse than usual, he’s fully able to fulfill Master’s demands and determined to do so.

‘’Nothing that requests your attention, Master,’’ he replies, picking up the option he assumes is the safest. If he had a look at the inventor, he could have said the man doesn’t seem convinced by his words, but let the subject drop for the time being. ‘’I’m fully able to serve you, sir,’’ the fallen prince adds, waiting for orders.

‘’What’s your name?’’ Tony asks instead.

It’s been the first time Loki has been asked for a name since his enslavement. He’s been basically nameless since then, just like many others slaves in here, maybe except of the ones who were personal attendants or concubines rather than simple workers and he can’t claim to be espaecially unhappy because of that.

‘’I don’t have one, Master,’’ he replies quietly.

‘’C’mon, you must have a name,’’ Stark insists, eyeing Loki distrustfully, makings former God’s of Mischief stomach twitch nervously. He has to make something up, quickly.

‘’Rudolph,’’ he blurts out. It somehow seems fitting. ‘’It’s Rudolph, Master,’’ he repeats respectfully.

‘’Rudolph, hmm?’’ Tony muses. ‘’Not the kind of name I thought I would stumble round here. It reminds me, however, of someone I used to know.’’

Loki shifts with trepidation. Man of Iron couldn’t know, right? His entire plan was based on having as little contact with Stark as possible, but it has backfired utterly. He’s now completely on the mercy of the former enemy and it’s not the outcome he wished for. He really should have given other name, not something like this. He has to really be out of practice. Sometimes he thinks his mistakes must have been really grave, because he’s getting constantly punished with insurmountable amount of the bad luck in life.

‘’Okay, never mind, Rudolph,’’ Stark speaks up after what seems to the former prince as forever, even if in reality only a few seconds passed. ‘’Now it’s water under the bridge anyway.’’

The inventor couldn’t understand why the innocent question about one’s name startled Rudolph so much, but in his vow to act decently to attempts to pat slave’s arm comfortingly. As soon, however, as he reaches out to him, Bambi flinches in response, causing the human automatically takes his hand back.

‘’I’m sorry, Master, I won’t do it anymore, I’ll be good,’’ Loki babbles. He is unsure whether Stark is the type of freeman who prefers to be apologized to profusely or the one who is strictly insistent of the rule ‘’Don’t speak unless you’re spoken too,’’ but he speaks anyway.

‘’You won’t do what, exactly, anymore?’’

The puzzled expression on his face would be obvious to any bystander, but the former god is too panicked to mistake confusion for being tested.

‘’I won’t flinch, Master,’’ he bows his head submissively. He’s still trembling, despite the room being warm. He has no right to show emotions, maybe except the rare moments somebody would expect him to struggle or show initiative in the bed.

‘’Gosh, this isn’t happening,’’ the Midgardian mutters, making Loki want to slap himself. He displeased his Master even more and to make matters worse, he had no idea why. He could have sworn he gave a right answer. It would be easier to think, if not that fog of terror clouding his mind. He have seen what Man of Iron is capable of with his own eyes, after all, and this isn’t the most comforting thought.

He will be complaint. He’s been through so many humiliations, this one doesn’t change anything only because the last time he saw Tony Stark the power dynamics was different.

‘’No harm done, okay? It’s okay, Bambi,’’ the mortal says reassuringly, feeling just as confused as the Aesir.

Be careful what you wish for. He wanted to have an aim in his life, right? Now he will certainly be very busy whether he likes it or not. He doesn’t have a slightest idea what’s going on, so maybe he could go for the change of approach.

‘’So, Rudolph, let’s get you fed properly in the first place,’’ he says, hoping this would soothe the slave a bit. It turns out, however, it causes quite the opposite effect.

Oh not, feeding. Loki goes hungry more often than not, but being overfed is in the top ten of the most sophisticated and cruel punishments in his personal ranking. To add insult to injury, he doesn’t even know what exactly had he done wrong, so he can’t even refrain himself from repeating this mistake. He can only guess and go for trial and error, but the relapse isn’t something Masters treat leniently. He feels the growing terror, he seriously doesn’t want to be punished the first day in new hands. The silver lining is, he won’t have to wait for his whatever is to come; anticipation often stresses him more than the actual chastisement. His new Master is quick in his action, which may be a curse and blessing at the same time.

In his previous life, Loki loved causing chaos and mischief more than anything. His nature rebelled against the stagnation, he played with people and thigs as often as he could, but no matter how thoughtless had he been a few time, there was a border he never crossed. In Alfheim, he was to learn the elves can be malicious and imaginative to the extent he never even suspected it could be possible.

The overseers sometimes seemed bored with the monotony, so from time to time they came up with some ideas. Overfeeding had both a psychological as well as physical impact, even if it left no visible marks, which was just another perk of its use. The method had only one drawback, namely it was necessary to waste a rather large amount of food on the slave, which is the reason why it wasn’t often used.

Loki was so far overfed only once, but after the series of vomiting, which left him in nearly lifeless state, he doesn’t wish to repeat the experience. He bits his lip in despair and risks a glance at Stark, even if he knows very well he’s not allowed to. At least his new owner puts the matters straight. He vividly remembers how it went before, how he got lured with the food, after the days of going with empty stomach, and then forced to eat more than he could have handled, only to throw up again and again to end up be not only hungry, but also sick and exhausted.

He didn’t expect something like that to happen with Master Tony, not so soon anyway and he can’t help but be afraid and wordlessly ask for mercy.

The slave doesn’t look reassured, in fact rather the opposite. These eyes, these beautiful green eyes are pleading silently, making Tony feel like crap. For the few seconds he can’t get what he done wrong, but then something sparks up in his head.

‘’Are you allergic to anything, Bambi?’’ He asks, mindful to keep his tone gentle.

‘’No, Master,’’ Loki answers, trying to keep his voice from wavering. This is a blessing he doesn’t have any allergies, cause otherwise it could have been another way of tormenting him. Master looks displeased, which makes the slave numb with fear.

Tony sighs internally. If it’s not about allergies, why is he so reluctant to eat? He looks like he haven’t got a decent meal in ages, so he should show more enthusiasm.

‘’What’s the problem?’’ He asks bluntly, tired of beating around the bush.

Rudolph, skittish thing, almost jumps.

‘’There’s no problem, Master. I apologize, Master. Did I displease you, Master?’’

 _Yes,_ Tony wants to say.

‘’No,’’ he replies aloud. ‘’Just tell me what’s wrong, kitten. When was the last time you ate?’’

Loki does quick calculations in his head.

‘’Today’s morning, Master.’’

He’s usually entitled to the one meal a day, unless he’s being punished for something again and he already had today’s. It was terrible gruel and truth being told, he’s not opposed to be fed again, but he’s not to cheat on his Master. No lies, no cheating, no half-truths, he had it drilled back in Asgard, in Odin’s dungeons, by Aesir who knew perfectly how prone he was to be economical with the truth and skilled with words. Probably masquerading as Rudolph is one big lie in the first place, but it’s a matter of survival.

Besides, the lie about having already eaten might come to light much easier, so he’s not taking the risk.

Tony opens his mouth to tell the slave not to call him ,,Master’’, but something stops him. He’s walking on the slippery ground, in this strange Fairyland, with absolutely no idea what he’s doing despite Thor’s instructions and wouldn’t rather mess with customs for his own sake. He can live with that charade for a while longer, until he’ll go back home and be able to set things straight with Rudolph. Sure, he’s been treated like a royalty so far, but he can’t forget he’s still a stranger in the strange land with no trusted allies. So far, every step he took with Green Eyes there turned out to make an opposite effect on what he tries to achieve and he’s seriously at his wits ends.

‘’Bambi. Listen,’’ he says in exasperation. ‘’I bet I could count your ribs. I can see how terribly thin you are even with these rags you have on, remind me to give you some clean clothes, by the way. The point is, I wish you no harm and even if I’m as unqualified to this job as one can be, I want to help you. For the start, please eat something or at least tell me why you don’t want to.’’ A beat of silence. ‘’You aren’t anorectic, are you?’’

Blank stare.

‘’Talk to me. Bambi, talk to me,’’ Tony asks desperately. The slave blinks.

‘’If I may, Master, I’m not anorectic, whatever it means.’’

A flood of relief.

‘’You’re talking. You’re talking. Great. Okay, so let me call for something to fill your stomach. C’mon, you must be hungry. I am, and nobody has been starving me on purpose, rather the opposite.’’

The last sentence is the blatant lie. The inventor isn’t hungry, rather sick to stomach, witnessing all the signs of the abuse on poor Bambi, but he just wants the slave to feel more comfortable. ‘’Get washed in the meantime. Here.’’ He motions to the door.

For some unknown reason, the green-eyed man still appears to be terribly discomforted.

‘’What’s now?’’ Stark snaps, only to wish to take it back a second later, seeing a look on Rudolph’s face.

‘’I’m not allowed to use the same bathroom as free men, sir,’’ the slave replies barely above the whisper.

Tony is so much done and it’s pretty clear there will be of the similar obstacles in the future. Loads of them probably. He is annoyed, much more irritated than he was in weeks, not because of the slave but because of the ones who broke him, who had a hand in creating the state he is now. He briefly wonders who Rudolph could have been if he wasn’t a slave, but he quickly dismisses these thought. He has to concentrate on here and now.

‘’Why?’’ He simply asks.

‘’It’s not proper, Master,’’ Loki explains. ‘’I can’t sully it with my presence.’’

‘’I don’t care,’’ Tony firmly says, but the slave still glances at him with doubt. ‘’You’re perfectly allowed to use my bathroom. I mean it. Go and take a bath. Use hot water, my shower gel and shampoo, take all the time you need.’’

The former Trickster nods slowly, hesitantly, as if ready to backpedal the second his new owner changes his mind. The superhero, however, just sends him an encouraging smile. He hopes the instructions he has just given are detailed enough to make them clear and he didn’t leave out anything important. Something tells him that being vague is the recipe for the disaster with this one. He hands Bambi some of his cloths, instructing him what to do and making sure what to do and after the bathroom doors close after the slave, he sits on the bed in exasperation, wondering whether has he ever felt so lost. At least so far he managed to have one thing established. Direct commands work fairly well. Not that Tony is overjoyed about it, but maybe, just maybe this will help both of them survive this strange situation they are stuck into.

He’s fairly sure nobody will protest much if he says he changed his mind, but even he knows it will be plain cruel. It seems that saving the whole world is much easier than saving one human. (Tony knows Rudolph technically isn’t human, but that’s a detail.) Despite this, he’s determined to do it. He had already got himself involved too much to inform a poor thing that he’s giving him back to that brutes, even though he doesn’t doubt they would take him back without as much as a blink.

Rudolph is very docile, even too docile for Tony’s liking, but a part of him is silently thankful for that. Having a rebel in his quarter’s isn’t something he signed up for. Maybe it’s forced optimism in the face of gloomy situation, but at least the slave doesn’t show any intent of smothering him in his sleep. The Midgardian is fairly sure he would have been able to overpower him, but he doesn’t want to test that theory. It pains him that judging from slave’s behavior he views him as another Master, which pretty much equals oppressive figure, even though Tony’s honestly trying, but this would be a surprise if Bambi acted the other way.

The food arrives just in time for Rudolph to come back. Stark orders him to sit down and eat, but to his apparently his intended message is misunderstood another time. Bambi indeed sits down, but on the floor next to the chair the engineer is sitting himself.

‘’Kitten? What are you doing now?’’ He asks, stifling another sigh.

The confusion painting on slave’s face clearly shows Rudolph is used to thinking in different categories.

‘’I apologize for assuming you wish to handfeed me, Master,’’ he replies timidly.

Tony closes his eyes and counts silently to three, before opening them and speaking up.

‘’No worries, okay? No worries. I’m from Midgard, our customs are different. Is this what happens here? Handfeeding, I mean?’’

‘’Sometimes, Master,’’ Loki replies gracefully. It happens usually to personal slaves and he was foolish enough to think he is one now. He’s not the type to be promoted, he should know that. Stark rans the hand through his hair in exasperation before handing the Aesir the plate with the meal.

‘’Nah, Bambi, you’re the big boy, I believe you know how to eat yourself.’’

Loki takes the offered plate and starts to clear it with such a speed Stark needs to slow him down.

‘’Easy, easy,’’ he murmurs. ‘’Nobody’s going to take this from you. Eat slowly or you’ll get sick.’’

‘’Apologies, sir,’’ the slave whispers, a picture of true misery. ‘’Punish me please in the way you see it fit.’’

Tony gathers all the strength he can not to fall apart.

‘’Don’t worry, Rudolph,’’ he manages to say almost cheerfully, even though Loki can see sparks of concern in his eyes. ‘’You’re a model slave here. At least by my standards, and these are my rules that count now, right?’’

A test. The one the former Trickster is extremely determined to pass.

‘’Of course, Master. I’ll head your every order,’’ he bows his head submissively.

He will keep that promise. He knows better than not to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How did it go?


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Loki wonders if/when Tony will bed him. Nothing graphic.

‘’Right, Rudolph. Hungry? Thirsty? Need to go to the loo? Anything?’’ Tony doesn’t know what else can he ask about.

‘’Thank you, Master, I require none of that,’’ the slave answers.

‘’You aren’t the most chatty thing, don’t you? Not the one for the small talks. No mindless banter. Suit yourself,’’ the inventor mutters, more to himself than to Rudolph, who even if probably can hear him, remains silent, just as predicted. ‘’Well, than,’’ the superhero decides. ‘’I’ve got a job to do, so just sit quietly where you are. Tell me if you need something.’’

‘’Yes, Master,’’ Loki replies, even if both of them know this won’t be happening.

It has always been easy for Tony to get so engrossed in his work that he forgot about the outside world and this now is exactly the good moment to have something to take his mind off his newest charge. When he glances at Rudolph after some, rather longer than shorter time, it looks like the slave hasn’t moved for an inch, making the inventor involuntarily wonder how long the man could stay motionless. He’s not going, however, to test this. He might be negligent and his ideas how to cope may bring more harm than good, but he’s not intentionally cruel. Being a superhero obliges, to paraphrase a saying. Or something like that, anyway.

‘’I almost lost the track of time,’’ he says, breaking the silence.

Bambi still doesn’t move.

‘’Hey, I’m talking to you,’’ he speaks again.

The Aesir flinches.

‘’I apologize, Master, for not paying attention,’’ he hurries to answer, wide-eyed, making the inventor feel instantly guilty again. ‘’I’m happy to accept any correction...’’

‘’Stop this,’’ the Midgardian interrupts him sharply. Rudolph flinches nerviously again. ‘’Kitten, it’s okay, you’re okay,’’ the mortal carries on in the gentler tone. ‘’What I mean, it was quite an evening, wasn’t it?’’

Loki doesn’t know what kind of answer is right for this question, he isn’t even sure it was even a question and some kind of the verbal reply is required from him in the first place, so he chooses the safest option.

‘’Yes, Master. If you deem so, Master.’’

‘’How come you stayed put for so long?’’ Tony inquires.

‘’You told me to, Master,’’ replies the former god impassively.

Right, he did.

‘’I didn’t mean it as rigorously, Bambi,’’ he explains. ‘’I mean, you did great, of course’’ he quickly adds, in his most soothing yet firm voice, before he unintentionally sends Rudolph into some spiral of terror. ‘’But I didn’t mean you can’t change a position or anything.’’

‘’Shall I kneel, Master?’’ Loki’s voice is oddly calm, or maybe rather resigned, in these circumstances.

‘’No, no, no. Just get comfy. Comfy. You. Get comfortable. Clear?’’ Tony does his best to be as direct and straightforward as he can, even if he feels as if he was talking to child. Before the slave answers, he speaks up again, noticing the dark circles under Aesir’s bright eyes and the sings of man’s general fatigue. ‘’Listen, I know it’s still rather early, but there’s no use of you straining yourself if you can just rest, so do it. Try to get some sleep, okay?’’

‘’Yes, Master.’’

‘’You reply this like some kind of mantra.’’

This time, the fallen prince stays silent.

‘’People say ‘’yes’’ to me more often than not, Bambi, but you take this to extreme.’’

Judging by Rudolph vacant expression, he doesn’t get this attempt to lighten the mood. Tony rubs his temples. He briefly considers letting the slave sleep in his own bed, but this doesn’t seem right for few reasons. Making him stay on the carpeted floor doesn’t seem fine either, but is the lesser evil, especially that it’s only a temporary solution. Few more nights and he’ll be back home. They’ll be back home.

‘’There’s an extra blanket and the pillow in the wardrobe,’’ he instructs the slave. ‘’They are for you. Sweet dreams, little reindeer.’’

Loki, not surprisingly, obeys. He is indeed beat, but being ordered to go to sleep was the last thing he expected. He glances at his new Master suspiciously, the inventor seems to come back to whatever he was doing with that weird Midgardian technology and doesn’t seem to interested in whether the slave is following his orders. Or maybe he assumes Loki will just follow the order, because this is the only possible way. With quite a relief, the Aesir nestles on the carpet and closes his tired eyes, still half-expecting for Stark to change his mind. The few minutes pass, though, and nothing happens, allowing the former deity to relax, even if just a little bit. He’s still processing the events that led him to be there and will undoubtedly need a while longer to do so. This was just so unexpected.

First, he was sent to serve at the feast. Nothing new, it happened to him a couple of times before, when it was kind of all-hands-on-deck situation. It was a miracle he didn’t stumble or break anything, as Norns know he was numb with nerves, the world spiraling in front of his eyes, making his step unsteady and vision blurry.

He recognized the Avenger without any problems. Tony Stark didn’t change much, maybe except a few more sliver strands on his brown hair and an extra line or two on his forehead. He was just sitting there, in the jubilant mood, full of life, laughing and feasting, a true hero, a victor, a man for whom New York was just an episode, a chance to prove to the world what a great warrior he is, not something that turned his entire life upside down. If Loki is to be honest with himself, he has to admit Stark had gone through a few stressful moments because of him. Now when he thinks back on the invasion, throwing the man out of the window in his own home wasn’t the smartest move, but he blames Spectre for not being able to think clearly.

Again, it doesn’t matter now. Loki’s fate is sealed and there’s nothing he can do about it. It’s better to consider his punishment just and fair, otherwise it would have only cause more pain. The one encounter was stressful enough, this brief exchange of glances, as Loki, despite his training couldn’t stop himself, but he didn’t assume they will cross paths ever again.

When Stark showed up unexpectedly earlier this day, only to witness the slave’s failure to complete his chores, when he said he wants him, Loki was convinced (as well as presumably the overseer) that the Midgardian wished to mete out the punishment for disturbing his peace personally. The Aesir cursed silently being constantly down on his luck, but the billionaire not only didn’t cause him any pain so far, but also claimed he wants Loki for his own, permanently. The slave has no idea why, the elf was right, he _is_ damaged goods. Even today, with Master Tony, he has committed so many offences, which would have surely resulted in at least a slap or backhand if not something worse from any other Master. He failed to keep his gaze down a couple of time for the start and the rest of his transgressions was only worse. Despite that, none of the usual correction occurred. He prays that Master isn’t delaying it for some reason. Taking it all at once would have been unbearable.

Loki hopes it’s not the case. For the first time in years he’s fairly comfortable, but he still can’t just accept that whatever will be will be and tries to figure out what’s going on. He was ordered to sleep, the most unusual order ever. It rarely happens to him to rest during Masters or Mistresses presence, as usually he’s kicked out of the bed and sent back to the slavequarters right after sex, unless someone keeps him through the night to have another round in the morning. Now, however, apparently a lot of will change in his life. New Master, new rules, even if he always assumed some of them were universal. It looks like he was wrong. He wonders whether or rather when Stark will claim his rights to bed him. Fiddling with his appearance, he made an effort not to stand out and while he’s not the prettiest slave in this place, he’s not ugly either, which has caught some unwanted interest from time to time. Besides, new Master asked for him for a reason and why should he look out for entertainment somewhere else when he’s got a slave on hand already. Loki has little doubt any other Master, even if by some miracle would have been so gentle so far, would have waited so long with taking him. He has survived because he learnt to abide the rules, the simple, perpetual schemes. He generally knew what was expected from him, but this is all so fresh and unexpected and he feels like if he was swimming in the ocean of uncertainty.

He’s got a lot to be worried about, the change of ownership always goes with learning new rules and this more often than not isn’t going completely smoothly, there’s usually uncertainly about his fate involved. There’s also an option that by some unknown means Stark found out about Rudolph’s true identity and wants to lull him into the false sense of security only to hurt him more once he feels better. Whatever Master says is the law, Master always knows best and he just has to submit. He’s undeniably the creature of chaos, but now he’s longing for clear rules, silently regretting that Masters has no obligation towards slaves, so he may as well not inform Loki what his demands are. The Aesir feels ungrateful by only thinking such things about his new owner. He will gladly accept any guidance Master would be gracious enough to provide. He tries to focus on the positives and find comfort in little things. He’s stomach is full, he had a real bath, not a cold shower or hosing off, he has a warm, fuzzy blanket and a carpet is quite an improvement from sleeping on the bare ground. Obviously, he still has a lot of reasons to be cautious, but it’s been so long since he had such a good conditions, so he can’t help just closing his eyes (he’s just following an order, like a good slave) and drifting into the land of dreams.

Tony wishes he knew what he is doing. He’s making decisions basing on the intuition, which doesn’t turn out to be the best tactic. Mechanics? Yes, please. Business? No problem, he knows perfectly how to swim on these muddy waters. Being an Iron Man? He fucking loves it, it’s in his blood. Taking care of the slave in the foreign realm? He has no idea what to do. It’s a miracle he managed so far without any great disaster, the one to grant him a place in Alfheim history books.

Now Rudolph is resting, fed, cleaned up, and safe from the outside world, but this doesn’t make Tony feel any better about himself and the world surrounding him. In fact, it makes him feels awful.

Bambi looks so peaceful while sleeping, as if the horrors of the day didn’t occur, which makes Tony even sadder, knowing this serene view is just an illusion. He feels the surge of protectiveness rushing through his veins, but the adrenaline level in his blood must be dropping rapidly, as he starts to feel weariness as well. Interacting with the slave was exhausting, even if it wasn’t this poor guy’s fault and he can’t even tell himself tomorrow will be better, because people don’t just heal overnight.

Tony Stark, genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, slave owner? It wasn’t supposed to look be that. The more he thinks about it, about what he had just done, the worse his headache gets. He shouldn’t have bought another being so easily in the first place. He can’t even find the words for how wrong it is. On the other hand, he couldn’t have just walked away. Or could he, assuming whatever happens in this realm is not his problem? What else could he have done? Try to placate the overseer? Antlers would have probably still been beaten, if not today than sooner or later. Tony had seen this cruel glint in elf’s eyes.

Power corrupts and Tony isn’t free from its alluring charm as well. There aren’t many things that scare him more in the world than this perspective.

For the while he listens to Rudolph even breathing, before sleep claims him as well.

When he wakes up the next morning, for the short moment he’s convinced that the previous day’s events were the product of some messed up, weird beyond imagination cruel dream, but it takes as much as one glance on the sleeping figure to find out it’s not the case. He blinks a couple of times, but the slave (Rudolph, the engineer reminds himself) refuses to disappear. Thor gave him many valuable tips, which came handy while trading, but apparently to the Aesir some things, such as for instance slavery, are so natural they weren’t worth mentioning. However, if Tony is to be honest with himself, he doubts Thor would be the best person to explain ‘’Care and Feeding of the Slave You Bought on Impulse’’ to him. The God of Thunder might be a great friend and warrior, but he’s also the polar opposite of subtlety. He’s loud, enthusiastic, boisterous and while the inventor is as far from having a degree in Psychology as one can be, he’s sure as hell this can’t help someone like Rudolph to get better. Besides, Thor would presumably be pretty shocked why Tony wants to help the poor thing in the first place, but maybe he could at least enlighten the mortal friend what the slave exactly expects from him to help him avoid making some grievous mistake by accident.

It looks like he has to figure things out on his own. He wouldn’t complain if someone would tell him at least where to start, but no such luck. He almost huffs in annoyance. His late father wasn’t the most devoted parent, but he had at least instilled in Tony one very important thing, that came handy many times during his life. Young Anthony was thought he can count on only himself more often than not. Until today he didn’t consider this rule to be so universal.

He yawns and heads for the morning shower. He’s going out for a day and he still needs to tell the slave the few words before leaving, starting from making sure he won’t starve himself while left unattended.

‘’Bambi?’’ He calls softly when he’s back to the sleeping room. No reaction.

‘’Bambi? Rudolph?’’ He tries again, a little louder, but the dark-haired man doesn’t even move, still sleeping like a log. Tony wouldn’t have been surprised if that was the first decent night sleep he had in the very long time. He’s tempted to let him sleep in, but he needs to leave for at least a few hours and would have rather exchanged a few words with his new charge before leaving him on his own. Considering the previous day’s events, laying some ground rules sounds like a good idea and the superhero can only hope he won’t mess up with poor traumatized mind even more.

He crouches next to the lying figure and nudges his shoulder gently.

‘’Raise and shine, Bambi,’’ he says. ‘’It’s morning already.’’

Loki’s eyes instantly snap wide. For the brief second he’s disoriented, but then he probably remembers everything, as he looks at the engineer with terror.

Here they go again.

The Aesir was sleeping, cocooned into the alluring warmth and softness of the blanket, when his fitful rests got interrupted. Being woken up is never good news for the slave, especially by his Master, so he greets the day with only fitting words in this situation, hoping to mitigate his guilt even if only a little.

‘’I apologize, Master.’’

‘’What for, this time?’’ The Midgardian asks, the undertones of anger in his voice.

This sounds more familiar then the previous day’s soft treatment. It’s not the first time somebody wants to make sure Loki knows where he faulted and to make matters worse, he just got subtly reminded it’s not his first transgression towards his new owner as well.

‘’For sleeping in your presence, Master,’’ he admits timidly, shifting to kneeling positon.

Stark looks troubled.

‘’Bambi, didn’t I tell you to sleep myself?’’

‘’Yes, Master,’’ the former prince confirms in small voice.

It wouldn’t have also been the first time he was given contradicting orders or the order contradicting the general rules only to watch him struggling. Whatever had he chosen, it always ended badly.

‘’Breathe, Green Eyes, breathe,’’ mutters the Midgardian. ‘’I hope you had a good night sleep, you certainly needed a break, but now get up. We need to talk.’’

‘’Yes, Master,’’ Loki replies, sick to his stomach at the mere mention of the so-called talk. He had enough of these in the past to expect the worse.

The inventors curses under his breath. The slave can’t hear the words, but judging by the tone and the expression on the superhero’s face, he’s definitely not pleased.

‘’Why are you..?’’ He starts sharply, before stopping mid-sentence. ‘’Never mind. Sit down,’’ he orders. ‘’Sit the fuck down and wait till someone will bring us breakfast, as usual.’’

The Norse hesitates, but ventures to speak. This may bring dire consequences, but staying silent in this particular situation may end the same, if not worse. It’s rather obvious Master is misinformed in this matter and it’s on Loki now to enlighten him.

‘’Sir, I’m afraid this is considered my duty now,’’ he informs his new owner, doing his best to sound as respectful as possible, even if he’s ill-at-ease speaking out of turn.

The billionaire shrugs.

‘’Have it your way, Bambi. Just get something for yourself as well.’’

He obeys, of course, and this time, thankfully, Master appears to be pleased with him. He hesitated what exactly does ‘’getting something for himself’’ mean, but played it risky and helped himself with real food, pushing his luck more than he should have, but it was apparently was a good call.

‘’Where are you from, Green Eyes?’’ Tony asks while swallowing down the meal.

Loki blinks in confusion.

‘’Sir?’’ He asks uncertainly, tensing, as if readying for the blow.

Tony tilts his head.

‘’It’s pretty obvious you’re not the elf. What realm are you from?’’

The former deity allows himself to relax a little bit. This seems to be a rather innocent question, a perfectly reasonable one given the circumstances, but Loki’s not taking his chances. Thankfully, he has experience in masquerades and half-truths. One thing he knows for sure is that lies are usually the most convincing when they’re relatively close to the truth.

‘’I’m Aesir, Master,’’ he replies, unsure whether is the lie himself. He has no idea whether he considers himself Aesir or Jotun. Not that it changes anything in his situation. He hopes it’s not a cunning ploy to bare his façade and expose his true identity. However, Master just smiles again at him with much more kindness than anyone has shown him in years and Loki doesn’t know what to make out of it. If he’s the one to choose, he vastly prefers being Aesir, which also matches his appearance, even if he probably doesn’t deserve that as well.

The inventor hums noncommittedly.

‘’One of my friends is Aesir. He’s exactly the one who sent me here without the complete manual, so I blame my lack of knowledge on him. Ever heard of the Thor, Bambi? I believe he was the prince the last time I checked.’’

Loki almost chokes down on the words.

‘’Yes, sir.’’

The Midgardian comes closer.

‘’Rudolph, you’re shivering. I don’t know what I’ve done wrong this time, but please don’t be afraid. I won’t mention Asgard anymore if this freaks you out, okay?’’ He asks, eyeing the slave with concern and runs his warm hand through Loki’s tousled hair, making the latter melt instantly into the touch. The slave can’t remember when somebody has touched him like that, so gently, so comfortingly. It must have been before, back when….Stop. He’s not going down that path.

‘’Just don’t panic, kitten,’’ the billionaire says soothingly. ‘’Everything’s fine, no harm done, you’re doing great. Amazing job feeding me, seriously.’’

Loki closes his eyes. Stark (Master Tony, he berates himself) strikes him as the rather straightforward type of guy and assuming he’s behavior isn’t just an elaborate act, a sophisticated attempt to trick the Trickster, he doesn’t know who Rudolph really is, which is a considerable relief. Sure, he’s completely on Master’s mercy, but this is nothing new and at least Master Tony doesn’t have any reasons for personal vendetta towards Rudolph. It’s rather safe to assume Master doesn’t have means to match the dots. Rudolph is nothing like Loki, after all. Of course, the former sorcerer messed things up too many times for any Master to be happy with, but all in all these misdemeanors fade in comparison to Loki’s former actions. 

This doesn’t mean Master will be lenient with Rudolph for much longer. So far he has already shown a great patience towards slave’s mishaps, but Loki knows this can’t last forever.

All the good things always come to an end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Loki may have more in common then they think- they see only mistakes in what they do. Let me know whether you prefer Tony’s or Loki’s POV. I'll keep alternating them, but I'm curious :)


	5. Chapter 5

Before leaving, Master tells him to find himself something to do, so he obviously obeys. It resembles walking in the dark, as he spent definitely too little time to get to know the Midgardian enough to identify his preferences, but no slacking off is always a good rule to follow. Playing it safe, he does the laundry first and after he’s done with this task, he tidies the quarters. Not wanting to soil the good outfit he was given the previous day, he takes off this strange piece of clothing (a tee-shirt, he thinks Master called it) and folds carefully, keeping on the trousers only. He is almost done with his self-imposed duties when Master comes back.

‘’Hey, little reindeer,’’ the mortal calls light-heartedly, before freezing. ‘’Holy crap. Bambi, what happened to you?’’ He asks in the completely different voice.

Tony generally had a pleasant day. He was half-hoping that taking his mind off Rudolph would help him find a solution of the problem once he stops to think obsessively about it, but no such luck. His thoughts ran a few times towards the slave, but he assumed the man was perfectly safe and regaining his strength in the rooms, free from these sadistic elves. 

When he came back, he had not only found the slave wasn’t resting, but discovered something much worse. He doesn’t know why Rudolph is parading round shirtless, but it isn’t a sight one could stomach easily. First of all, the billionaire wasn’t wrong about being able to count the ribs. Poor thing absolutely needs to have some meat put on the bones, even if he appears to be naturally lanky. Worse from that, though, are the bruises and something that looks like the fading whipping marks, marring the skin.

‘’Sir?’’ Asks the slave timidly, looking down on the floor.

‘’Bambi, what, why, when…’’ It’s so difficult to formulate the thoughts. ‘’Who did it to you? And why?’’

‘’The overseers, Master. I wasn’t good enough and got punished.’’

‘’Punished, my ass,’’ he superhero mutters angrily, making Loki cower involuntarily and his eyes water. No matter what he does, he’s on the lost position. His eternal fate of the walking failure. Now the Master has a clear evidence of his multiple wrongdoings.

‘’You shouldn’t look like that, Bambi,’’ Master says in the strange voice. The Aesir knows that perfectly, of course he shouldn’t. This is a straightforward message, informing him and everybody else that he’s the disobedient slave who never learns.

‘’I apologize for upsetting you, Master,’’ he replies in what was supposed to sound neutral, but comes out rather pitiful. He hopes to make an impression of remorseful, even if he knows this won’t probably grant him leniency. Hadn’t Odin himself stated Loki doesn’t deserve it?

The engineer doesn’t comment this in any way, coming straight to his suitcase and taking something out of it. The Aesir flinches, but thankfully the billionaire doesn’t seem to notice, even if the slave bitterly notes that in his situation it wouldn’t have cause him much more trouble anyway. There’s one perk of being an outcast. There’s a line after the heap of misdemeanors where he can’t reasonably get himself into more troubles. He wonders briefly what kind of scary implement Master wishes to use on him, but before he has time to spare much thought on it, the Midgardian pours water from the plastic bottle to the glass and hands Loki a white pill.

‘’Here. You swallow it and then drink water,’’ he instructs. ‘’These are called painkillers where I am from. I hope they’ll work on you as well.’’

Shocked and confused out of his mind the slave obeys, half-expecting something terrible to happen. While he stands still, dreading for whatever is to come, the inventor looks out for something else, but it seems the failed attempt, as he stops and speaks to Rudolph again.

‘’I don’t think I have anything for your marks, kitten, so I guess you’ll just have to wait.’’

The former Trickster nods. Master would rather have him unmarked, but this is understandable for multiple reasons. Had he his mind on finally claiming Loki, it’s rather obvious he would prefer to have a pretty thing in his bed. This way of thinking actually makes much more sense than being dosed with something to numb the pain.

Or maybe Master assumed he would be more efficient that one. This way of reasoning finally makes sense.

‘’Yes, Master,’’ he says dutifully.

Stark rubs his temples.

‘’Now, tell me, have you been cleaning this whole time?’’

‘’I did the laundry too, Master,’’ the slave replies truthfully. Master seems discomforted again and it’s still a mystery for the fallen prince what had he done wrong this time. He only wanted to earn his keep, but he left these rooms to get cleaning supplies. Master didn’t forbid him to do so, but also didn’t explicitly allow him to move freely. Or maybe Master referring to the ‘’this whole time’’ means Rudolph is working too slowly?

‘’You washed my clothes?’’ The Midgardian questions.

‘’Yes, sir.’’

‘’I would appreciate it, Bambi, if you refrain from messing with my stuff at least until we get to know each other better.’’

_Rule number one, don’t touch Master’s belongings._

Loki shakes like a leaf in the breeze. He didn’t know, but he could have guessed Master won’t be happy about that. He really starts to lose hope he _will_ please Master someday. He’s the bad slave, so bad that he doesn’t even have words to describe it. The soft whimper escapes his lips as it hits him with full force. Master has been so good to him, so generous, so kind, almost gentle and Loki disappointed him. Because that’s what he is. A disappointment. Master has to punish him, not because he likes it, but to make his slave better.

‘’I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,’’ he repeats frantically. ‘’I will accept whatever punishment you see it fit, Master.’’

‘’Hmm,’’ the billionaire muses. ‘’I’ve never seen anyone so eager to get punished.’’

‘’I know I need it, Master, to become a better slave for you. Please, Master, I’ll be happy to accept every correction.’’

‘’Sure as hell you don’t look happy now.’’

Rudolph berates himself in head to make more effort.

‘’I apologize, Master,’’ he admits pitifully, dropping to his knees. ‘’I will try harder. I know I’m not meant to enjoy it, but I’ll stay still and be quiet.’’

Silence.

‘’I’ll clean the blood afterwards,’’ he offers in despair. ‘’I’m sorry for not showing much enthusiasm, Master, but I’ll be good. Really. You won’t have to hold back.’’

The mortal eyes him with the sheer horror, before gingerly hoisting Loki to the standing positon and pulling the tearful deity into the brief embrace.

‘’Kitten, it happened, okay?’’ he asks soothingly. ‘’I know you wanted to be good, right? Just don’t do it again.’’

‘’Yes, Master,’’ the Aesir confesses. Not that his intentions ever counted, not even in his previous life.

Master runs the warm hand down his back in the gesture of reassurance.

‘’Don’t beat yourself because of it, I should have been more precise. The matter is closed. Never propose something like that to me again. Never. Clear?’’

‘’Yes, Master,’’ Loki answers barely above the whisper, the relief flooding him. He can’t remember the last time someone was so kind to him without any ulterior motives. He’s still feeling far from safe, but much safer than he had been in very long. Maybe life with Master Tony will turn out to be all right.

The engineer’s voice pulls him out of these thoughts.

‘’Great job with cleaning though, I don’t think my floors have ever been so clean.’’

‘’I’m trying to be useful, sir’’ Loki mumbles, his eyes downcast. ‘’My job is to serve you, Master.’’

‘’Don’t overexert yourself, Bambi. Now, let me tell you something. What I meant this morning, it…’’

Tony’s announcement gets interrupted by the loud knocking. The Aesir instinctively takes a step back as the superhero opens the door to see one of the high-class servants. Though servants are undoubtedly in much better position than slaves, Lords and Ladies sometimes aren’t kind to them, causing them later vent their frustrations on the slaves in return. It rarely is something worse than raised voice, slap, push or shove, but Rudolph prefers to play it safe and stay on their good side. At least in one aspect his conscience is clean. Back when he was a royalty, he always treated his servants at least decently, if not good. Thor definitely hadn’t been as nice as his adoptive brother, often getting under his servants’ skin with his violent outbursts and unreliable requests.

Loki feels a sting of pain caused by this memory, but he focuses on the present. He ignores the condescending look of the servant, refusing to take a hint and kneel. Master doesn’t seem to like when he does that for some unknown reason and besides, he’s now no longer obliged to obey these servant’s orders.

In the really twisted way, this is rather heartwarming. Having one Master is usually much better than being passed among various freemen, unless the Master is really cruel man.

The elf informs the mortal about another feast he’s been invited to.

‘’Will you attend, Lord Stark?’’ He asks politely.

Tony hesitates. He’s not really in mood to go and now he has a good excuse not to.

‘’I appreciate your Lord’s offer, but I’d rather have some fun with my slave tonight,’’ he declares with dignity.

The servant nods.

‘’Understandable, sir. Have the good time, sir.’’

With relief, the superhero closes the door, only to see Rudolph on the verge of hyperventilating. He wants to offer him some comfort, but this entire situation isn’t easy for him either. To make the matters worse, he can’t claim the slave was just dumped into his lap. He actually made a choice. He took this responsibility himself. He’s got no one to blame. No one tricked him into this.

Still, he can’t keep a tinge of annoyance out of his voice.

‘’Bambi, take a deep breath. I just wanted them to leave me in peace, they keep harassing me with these parties all the time. What’s important, my dear friend, this all is temporary. Once I’ll take you home, New York, this charade will end, but so far, let’s keep up the appearances.’’

‘’Yes, Master,’’ whispers the Aesir with white lips.

Temporary? Charade? Does it mean once they reach New York Master will show his true colors? It has to be it, as Loki doesn’t deserve any of this. This is why he can’t allow himself to forget he isn’t worthy of mercy, kindness or compassion, as being back to norm hurts much more than it should. He shouldn’t have let himself bask in the warmth of considerate gestures and gentle touches. Once he had been a clever man, he should have known it was too good to be true. Now, he’s just a lowly slave, he’s not supposed to think much and he is thankful for Master being gracious enough to remind him of his place.

Despite this, he can’t help to muse for a while longer. The question is, why Master is treating him so softly now. It looks like maybe, probably, for some reason he wants to give others the impression of the generous and compassionate man, even to those who aren’t customary treated like that, so that shall benefit him in doing his trade. Master is very smart, after all. Even with nobody else in the quarters he can’t risk somebody appearing out of the blue and seeing Master treating Loki as he should be treated, so Master lays low for now, knowing it will end very soon and then…The Aesir almost shudders at the mere thought. This is why Masters tells him to rest every now and them. He wishes his newest slave to be able to endure whatever he has in store for him.

Now, it finally all makes sense to Loki. All the can do is try harder and may the Norns listen to his prayers and have mercy on him.

***

Tony would be willing to pay a handsome sum of money to anyone who would explain to him the ways his slave’s mind is going, because he’s on his wits end right now. He’s got a traumatized alien under his care and doesn’t have slightest idea what to do with him. It’s not like he can sent him to the therapist, unfortunately. Stark feels like his resources are quite limited, despite all his wealth and technology. His life has always been far from ordinary, but having a slave, especially an alien one- this was never the plan. He could have sworn something was going better with Rudolph. A miniature breakthrough, far from the desired state, but even the small progress is better than the lack of it. He assumed initially he handled the latest crisis well, but apparently something is wrong.

Again.

He’s tired.

He needs a drink, preferable more than one.

Damned elves.

Bambi sits on the carpet, resting his forehead on the knees, huddled in this position as if involuntarily shielding himself from someone or something.

From Tony.

The Midgardian is as discomforted as he could be and at the same time he can’t find the strength to ask what’s the problem this time. It’s like being back to square one and he could have sworn he had gone easy on Rudolph, like on no one ever before.

He wants to say something, to apologize, to reassure, to come closer and scoop the poor thing into his arms and rock him like a child, but he can’t move. No matter what he does, everything seems to fail.

Can he still call himself a good guy? Maybe he was just deluding himself he can be something more than playboy weapon manufacturer. How can he play the slave owner, pretending all this isn’t real, while it’s very real to poor Bambi? He can’t let Rudolph go, because the man obviously isn’t able to manage on his own, but being involved in this slave-master scheme also makes him sick. He seriously shouldn’t have such a unlimited power over the another being in his hand.

You made your own bed, Tony, so lie in it.

Before bedtime, he hands Rudolph another painkiller and make sure the slave is fed, washed and has clean clothes to sleep in. At least that he can do.

***

The negotiations are over. Tony smiles, shakes hands and silently counts hours to his departure.

‘’It’s been such a pleasure,’’ he grins broadly. ‘’But there’s no place like home.’’

During the journey to the mother realm he squeezes Loki’s hand tightly, as if afraid to lose him on the way.

Being back home is indeed a relief, even if the inventor knows he’s nowhere near solving his own problems.

The Aesir contemplates the view of the city in silence.

‘’Beautiful, isn’t it?’’ Tony asks with pride, mistaking slave’s reaction for awe. The former conqueror absent-mindedly agrees.

Midgard or rather Earth, how humans call it. New York. Stark Tower. The memories resurface, no matter how much he preferred they wouldn’t. In such a case, it would have been a real clean slate for Loki and this wouldn’t have been appropriate. He can’t forget for even a single second he’s being punished for his crimes.

From this viewpoint, coming back to New York is much more fitting than staying in Alfheim, where it was much easier to pretend he’s someone else. Till this moment, it all seemed like an unreal dream, making him wonder when he will wake up in the slave quarters, to toil away again under the whip.

Anthony Stark of Midgard is his Master. It’s official now.

It’s also very real, as Master takes his slender hand and guides him into the building.

‘’Welcome home, honey,’’ he announces in mock-serious tone. ‘’Let me introduce you to my humble abode.’’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We’re leaving Alfheim behind, say hello to Midgard, all of you. I know this chapter wasn’t the happiest one, but don’t lose hope.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Loki discovers how little he knows of the realm he tried to conquer. Loki and Jarvis have some bonding time.  
> Achika_pl comments motivated me to add the ‘’cultural misunderstandings’’ tag. Have fun reading about those :)

The Stark Tower is the polar opposite of humble, but Loki, predictably, doesn’t comment on that. It takes him no more than one glance to see both the city and the tower look like the invasion didn’t happen in the first place. It seems so fair and just- everybody except of the evildoer moved on and live their lives.

Perhaps it’s the most clear evidence there is justice in his world. He could have been bought by so many inhabitants of the nine realms, but he ended up as the chattel of the former enemy. He counts himself lucky that Master Tony treats him far better than he deserves, but he knows perfectly the reason for that. It feels like wiggling his way out of the punishment, but Loki doesn’t have enough strength to come clean. The last time he entered this building he was the enemy, proud and confident, keeping his head high. There aren’t many mitigating circumstances in his case, Thanos or not, the blame is his own.

The mortal grins at the sight of familiar surroundings.

‘’Jarvis, Daddy’s home,’’ he calls cheerfully.

Loki half-expects a child or maybe a pet to show up any minute, even if he vaguely recalls there were none of these the last time he was there, but the voice coming from the ceiling startles him to the point he almost jumps.

‘’It’s a pleasure to finally see you, Mr Stark,’’ the voice proclaims evenly. ‘’I hope your journey was pleasant and fruitful.’’

‘’It was, indeed,’’ replies the engineer, before turning to the slave. ‘’Rudolph, this is Jarvis, my artificial intelligence. He doesn’t have a body, so you can’t see him.’’

‘’Hello, Mr Jarvis,’’ Loki says cautiously.

‘’Hello, sir. Mr Stark, I’m delighted you finally started having the well-behaved guests,’’ the metallic voice answers.

The inventor laughs.

‘’Shut up, J, I missed you too. Rudolph isn’t the guest. He’ll be staying here,’’ he explains, making a mental note to put more light on the slave’s situation once the latter is out of the earshot.

‘’This is an improvement, Mr Stark. I was worried about you being lonely since your breakup with Miss Potts.’’

‘’Not now, J,’’ Tony mutters. ‘My relationship with Rudolph is different than it was with Pepper,’’ he adds more loudly.

‘’Whatever you say, Mr Stark,’’ the AI replies, but the billionaire could swear his creation doesn’t seem convinced.

‘’Master, shall I help you unpack?’’ the Aesir asks, hoping to prove his usefulness after a few failed attempts.

‘’Later,’’ the billionaire replies. ‘’I’ve got a big announcement. Rudolph, do you remember when I told you what happens on Alfheim is temporary?’’

Loki’s face falls. So here it is. The good times are over. He was warned about it, it’s the only reasonable thing to assume, but he still wishes to cling on the treatment he has received. No blows, no insults, no harsh words, almost no scoldings, a place to sleep and food of much better quality than he is used to, served much more often as well. He knew it was too good to last. Now Master has no reason to pretend anymore.

‘’Yes, Master,’’ he replies fearfully, much to Tony’s confusion.

‘’Okaaay,’’ the mortal says, hoping that he will find out what’s going on this time soon. ‘’So, first thing, Bambi, furniture got invented for a reason. I’ll show you your room in a second, but since now on you’re sleeping on the bed. Second thing, you don’t have to sit on the floor. My sofas, chairs and armchairs are perfectly fine, thank you very much. Not that there’s something wrong with my carpets. They’re of the finest quality, you have my word for that.’’

The former sorcerer glances at him with confusion before lowering his gaze. The superhero smiles apologetically.

‘’I’ve been told my communication style isn’t the most straightforward one. My bad, Bambi, I guess you’ll have to get used to it, because I’m the lost cause when it comes to it.’’

‘’I will learn, Master,’’ Loki promises.

‘’I know, kitten. You didn’t get my point, did you?’’

‘’I’m sorry, sir, not really,’’ the slave reluctantly admits, his cheeks flushing at the shame of not being able to comprehend the message. This can’t be what he wants it to be, right?

‘’You’re allowed and perfectly welcome to sit on the furniture and sleep in bed. No more sleeping on the floor, Rudy.’’

The fallen prince can barely believe his own ears.

‘’That’s very generous of you, Master. I don’t deserve it. How can I repay you?’’

For the slave everything has a price, nothing comes for free, but the Midgardian just shrugs.

‘’Bambi, stop. This are basics. Even I know that.’’

For the brief moment, Tony considers coming back to Alfheim and strangling all the responsible for the Aesir’s state, but he quickly dismisses that thought, no matter how tempting it is.

‘’What’s more?’’ He asks himself aloud. ‘’Oh, yes, you’re perfectly welcome to look me in the eye,’’ he added, noticing that Rudolph eyes are still downcast.

Loki slowly raises his head.

‘’Thank you, Master,’’ he says with relief. Following this rule has been getting harder and harder anyway, but thankfully Master didn’t take it as the offence.

‘’You’ve got to pretty eyes for that anyway. They’re like two emerald stones,’’ replies Tony before he bites his tongue. First Jarvis’ remark, now this. Last thing he needs is Rudolph assuming he’s hitting on him, as if they didn’t have enough problems with communication.

‘’Next point, eat when you’re hungry, but I insist on you having at least three meals a day. I’m not the greatest in take care of that myself, so you’ll need to remember about it on your own. Sorry not sorry. My lifestyle isn’t the most orderly one, but I’m perfectly all right with how it goes. Besides, I’m not the one who looks like he’s about to keel over once the wind blows. I don’t want to upset your stomach by shoving the piles of grub into you, so I trust your intuition and the common sense. I mean, one of us has to show some, cause otherwise we’re screwed,’’ Tony carries on.

Loki translates it in his head as remembering abut regular meals, three a day. He can do that, he’ll be actually very happy to do that.

‘’Yes, Master,’’ he replies eagerly. 

‘’Please tell me I’m not turning into the mother hen,’’ the billionaire asks half-playfully, managing brining the smile to the Aesir’s lips.

‘’No, Master,’’ the slave replies, as this seems to be the right option.

‘’Perfect. If we’ve got this covered, next point, no kneeling.’’

This seems odd, contradictory to everything he has been thought, everything he has learnt in the hard way, as he wasn’t an easy student, but it’s not Loki’s place to question Master’s orders, especially that this is the one he’s glad to accept.

‘’Yes, Master.’’

‘’Great.’’ Tony beams and swiftly changes the subject. ‘’Bambi, I’ve got some matters to attend in this week. My company needs me, or at least this I what I choose to believe in. This time I may actually be welcome, as I bring joyful news from my journey. Anyway, you may explore the house tomorrow when I’m out. You’re free to move round here, except my workshop. It is off limits. Sorry, but I’m not risking you running lose round my technology. If you’re curious, I’ll show it to you another time. If something pops up, just ask J. That’s what he’s for. At least one of the reasons, anyway.’’

‘’Always happy to help, sir,’’ the AI speaks out of the blue, causing Loki to almost jump.

The billionaire bits his lip not to giggle.

‘’I guess getting used to it may take some time.’’

‘’Uhm, yes, Master,’’ replies the Aesir, eyeing the ceiling distrustfully.

Tony grins broadly.

‘’Well, everybody have their own brand of magic, right? My house, my rules.’’

‘’Yes, Master. I’ll ask Mr Jarvis for directions.’’

‘’It’s just Jarvis, Bambi. By the way, remind me to watch Bambi with you and later this movie about your namesake. I don’t care it’s the middle of the summer, I’m not waiting till Christmas.’’

‘’Yes, sir.’’

‘’Okay, any other questions? I can imagine you have a list by now.’’

Loki hesitates.

‘’I apologize, Master, this is a lot to take at once.’’

‘’It’s all right, we have time. Just tell if there’s something you want to know, or something makes you scared or uncomfortable, okay?’’

Master Tony has that strange habit of giving him orders in the form of questions. Anyway, Loki may actually have one question, which may be very crucial for his future.

‘’Yes, Master. If I may, do you own any other slaves?’’

The inventor stays silent for the prolonger while, before speaking in such a tone as if it was a hardship to pass the news.

‘’No, Rudy, I own no other…slaves. Generally it’s just you and me now, except of Jarvis and Dum-E, of course. I’ll introduce you to Dum-E another time, but so just you know, he’s my robot. I built him from the scratch when I was sixteen,’’ he adds with pride.

Loki knows less than he initially thought he does about Midgardians and their habits, but judging by the Master’s expression this is quite an achievement.

‘’Let me show you to your room,’’ the engineer exclaims with enthusiasm. ‘’I hope you’ll like it. It’s originally been a guest room, but I think it’s nice enough to live on the regular basis.

‘’Guest room’’ doesn’t sound scary, but the Aesir is still uncertain what to expect. Considering Master’s way with words, it may as well be some colorful metaphor. Loki finds himself rather surprised when Master presents him a place which is nothing like the slavequarters. He’s so stunned by this gesture he can barely focus on the Midgardian’s words. He catches single words and phrases such as ordering clothes using something called Interweb? Net? Interspider? Intersomething anyway, something about the nearest bathroom (‘’I think Pepper might have left some shampoo the last time she was there, you’re very welcome to use it if you don’t mind smelling like a perfume store’’) and something about the phone calls Master has to make tonight. After finishing his speech the superhero smiles at him warmly and leaves him to his own devices.

The first thing Loki does in his new bedroom is taking a look out of the window. After the place like Alfheim, it will be hard to get used to the city lights. Somehow, such a metropolis like New York seems fitting to the man Tony Stark is.

The former Trickster turns round to the bed. It’s tempting, oh so tempting, but despite Master’s permission, he finds it disturbing just to lie down. He caresses the fluffy comforter with the back of his hand, as if he needed the proof that once he touches it, it won’t disappear.

It doesn’t.

Loki kneels next to the bed and buries his face into the comforter.

It’s so quiet, with nobody to disturb the peace. No other slaves, no Masters, just this unknown stillness. The last time Loki spent the night alone, he was still a prince. He knows the concubines usually are allowed to sleep in the bed, but it’s always the Master’s or Mistress’ bed. Nobody’s providing them with their own, letting them stay with the owner and enjoy the comfort is just a side effect of them doing their duties.

Master Tony is indeed very generous to his slave and Rudolph has been nothing but burden so far. He has to be more of service. He can’t take advantage of the Master’s kindness.

He hesitates one last time whether he should sleep on the floor, but it would have been a contradiction to the direct order. Besides, all these luxuries are so tempting. All these linen, soft mattress, pyjamas manufactured from something Loki believes is called flannel.

Maybe it’s the test?

Norns, let it be real. Let it all be real. Please, he can’t handle such a disappointment. Please, let Master Tony be who Loki wishes him to be.

Funny how things can change in the relatively short time. Not so long ago he was dreaming about the blanket and not being constantly hungry.

Hesitantly, he slips under the covers, closes his eyes in contentment and almost immediately is out as light.

When he wakes up in the morning, he jumps out of the bed without much thought. It takes him a second to remember he’s not breaking any rules by using the furniture, rather the opposite, and there shouldn’t be the punishment coming. Despite this, once he is awake, he doesn’t lay down again. He might be allowed to spend nights in bed, but he knows that lazing off is off-limits. Master ordered him to get familiar with the layout of the house, so this is what he does.

This place is indeed big, but for someone raised in the royal palace finding the way to the kitchen is not the hassle. When he was a child, he and Thor used to play hide and seek in the labyrinth of rooms, often coming across servants and slaves, probably disorganizing their works, even if, not surprisingly, none of them dared to scold them for this.

Master’s kitchen is nothing like the kitchens he knows, but Norns know he’s adaptable and now he’s even more motivated to fit in, having so much to lose.

‘’Jarvis?’’ He asks in the loud whisper, looking round, half-expecting for someone to jump from round the corner and reprimand him for failure to address his betters properly. The metallic voice, luckily, seems unperturbed as he speaks.

‘’Yes, Mr. Rudolph?’’

‘’Jarvis, what am I allowed to eat?’’ Loki asks, eyeing the content of the fridge.

‘’Mr Stark didn’t leave any instructions in this department, sir.’’

Loki shudders.

‘’Why are you calling me that? I’m not a sir.’’

He can’t allow this to continue. Master would assume he has deliberately deceived Jarvis and this would certainly rile him up. Under no circumstances slaves are allowed to claim they’re someone else than they are. This is by far one of the worst offences and Loki’s not taking any risks.

‘’I’ve been programmed to address all the people in the polite manner, Mr. Rudolph. It’s in my codes,’’ Jarvis replies.

This rings a bell for the man.

‘’Are these codes an equivalent for the training?”’

‘’I assume it can be deemed so, sir.’’

Isn’t that ironical. It appears that Jarvis is both the slave and the overseer at the same time. That’s interesting. He wants to ask Jarvis, whoever he is, so may questions, but he knows he can’t. This invisible slave? Servant? Spirit? Will report him to the Master before he knows it. Master explained to him this unusual being is something called ‘’artificial intelligence’’, but this doesn’t tell him much. In fact, it basically tells him nothing. Anyway, this voice’s alliances must lay with Master.

He’s really ungrateful. He shouldn’t even think about such things. Once more, his conspiring nature tried to take over, but he managed to push these treacherous thoughts away. Master has so far been nothing but kind and understanding, Loki owes him his undivided loyalty and devotion.

Despite this, he needs to ask one very crucial question. Not the one whether his all actions are reported to Master, because this is rather obvious, but the second one, which has been plaguing him since the day one in the hands of Master Tony. Even with Master’s unheard indulgence, there must be some method of correction, there’s simply no other option.

‘’Jarvis, what are Master’s preferred methods of punishment?’’

He can’t believe he ventured to ask this question aloud. The AI doesn’t respond for long enough for Loki to almost panic he has messed up for real this time, but the answer that eventually comes also doesn’t placate him.

‘’I’m afraid I don’t understand this question, Mr Rudolph.’’

The slave wonders whether this is a weird equivalent of not being allowed to disclose this kind of information. Maybe Master wants to keep him in the dark about this as the additional deterrent for him to behave.

‘’I apologize for upsetting you with this question,’’ he speaks, before dropping the subject for good.

‘’I’m not upset, Mr Rudolph. I’m incapable of feeling emotions.’’

Isn’t it just getting weirder and weirder.

‘’Are you capable of feeling pain?’’ He asks.

‘’No, Mr Rudolph.’’

‘’Hmmm.’’

Loki wonders how in such a case Master deals with keeping Jarvis in line. Or maybe Jarvis is so perfect that he doesn’t need any supervision. It might be, considering his Jarvis odd status in this household.

‘’Jarvis, are there more like you in every Midgardian home?’’ He pushes on. It’s been years since he’s been asking so many questions in one go. Slaves are rarely allowed to ask for anything and speak out of turn, only in specified situation.

‘’No, Mr Rudolph. To my knowledge, I’m one of the kind. Mr Stark created me.’’

This fits to the picture of nonconventional Master Loki knows, giving him a little bit of stability in the new environment. The last time he was there, he didn’t pay attention to many aspects of Midgardian life, but maybe it’s for the best. He’s not supposed know much about Earth. His true identity has to remain hidden. There are details that may play the role, so he needs to be very careful.

It comes to him he got carried away, again. It happens to him definitely too often recently to be acceptable even with Master’s lax approach. He’s been told to eat, so this is what he’s obliged to do. His cooking skills are basically non-existent, but everything indicates that he should learn how to manage things in the kitchen, as this skill will undoubtedly be useful to him on more than one occasion.

‘’Jarvis, does Master have anybody to cook for him?’’ He asks. He was told that he’s the only slave here, but this doesn’t exclude some other solutions.

‘’Mr Stark seems to favor takeaway a lot.’’

Loki frowns.

‘’What’s that?’’

Jarvis patiently fills him on Midgardian eating habits and then instructs him how to make himself cereal. As he eats, it comes to him that he actually had a normal conversation for the first time in years. Being left alone (except of AI’s silent supervision) is on the one hand overwhelming, considering that during his enslavement he had rarely been granted such a luxury, to the point it seems unnatural, but he has also always been quite an introvert by nature, valuing his solitude and his alone time, so it’s a relief at the same time, especially when he can relax a bit without staying constantly on his toes because of the overseers who can jump on him at any moment.

Maybe Jarvis will be his ally. Loki has already started to grow fond of him and it’s also rather clear that Master values him a lot. He wouldn’t rather cross Master’s creation, for his own sake. Rudolph and Loki have one thing in common- both of them are survivors, picking their battles.

After doing the dishes, the Aesir takes a tour round the Tower. He stops for the longer while in the room his fight with Master took place on that fateful day, unable to move, unable to take his eyes off what he sees as if he got frozen for the few seconds. The glass he smashed is of course, replaced and even if he doesn’t come out on the terrace (unsure whether he has a permission, but not feeling like going out anyway), he knows how high he is. The visions of Master throwing him out the same way Loki did it to him flood his mind, making him shiver involuntarily.

No, he definitely can’t come clean about his identity.

The visit to the library is much more pleasant one. There are so many books here, that it almost make him cry at the mere sight. He vividly remembers how Mo- Frigga taught him to read, the passion for knowledge they used to share. It wasn’t uncommon to come across Thor practicing fighting technique when Loki was sitting not far away under the tree engrossed in the book he was currently reading.

The urge to get himself one, sit on the nearest chair and read is overwhelming, but back on Alfheim Master stated his rule about not touching his belongings.

Maybe if he’ll be really good, Master will let him pick one or two from time to time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, finally a little more light-hearted chapter. Poor Loki finally caught a break, even if there’s still a long road ahead of him. I’m actually happy with today’s installment and I hope you’re happy too. I’m having a great time exploring Tony- Loki/Rudolph dynamics.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise :) I haven't given you much time to start to miss me. I'm just having such a good time writing. Your lovely comments give me so much motivation. I love every single one of them.  
> Warning: As for the rape/non-con tag, the second part of the chapter (in the kitchen) might be triggering for some of you. It’s non-graphic. Check the ending notes if you want to find out more.

Coming back home reminded Tony why he actually left in the first place, but he had to admit that bringing glorious news about his great success made his shareholders look at him with more friendly eye and the reunion with Rhodey, Happy and even Pepper was worth leaving them for these few months.

This part of his life is now, however, on the last place on the list of his problems. He has a much bigger one under his roof at this moment.

It’s a blessing all Avengers are busy with their own lives and Pep isn’t visiting often anymore. He seriously doesn’t know how shall he explain Rudolph’s presence. The less people know, the better for him and his very own Aesir.

He basically can imagine the headlines in all the newspaper, about the billionaire superhero keeping a slave. He had the fair share of the bad press, but this is beyond every level imaginable. Not that he doesn’t trust his friends, but the secret that is easiest to keep is the one you don’t know.

He wonders whether it’s too much to hope that during his absence in the Tower everything goes smoothly. Luckily, despite his gloomy thoughts, when he comes home Jarvis doesn’t notify him about any disturbances the moment he crosses the threshold and the slave himself appears to be well or at least unharmed.

Perfect. Maybe it won’t be so bad. Maybe far from this cursed fairy land Bambi will recover rather smoothly.

Maybe the pigs would fly. Tony Stark may be many things, but he’s definitely not known from being overly optimistic in his prognoses.

‘’How was your day, Antlers?’’ He asks.

‘’I made myself familiar with the house, sir, had two meals, during which I was sitting by the table. I was also talking with Jarvis,’’ Rudolph dutifully reports.

‘’That’s very good,’’ Tony praises, a bit taken aback by such a detailed description, as he half-expected a cliché ‘’fine, thanks.’’

Something resembling the smile flashes on the slave’s face, before he returns to the neutral expression. ‘’How can I be of service for you, sir?’’ He inquires politely.

The engineer winces, which earns him a worried glance from the Aesir, but so hurries to speak.

‘’Okay, another thing you need to know. You don’t have to be of service. You don’t have to earn your keep or anything. So that you know, I have more than enough money not to be bothered by expenses. Clear?’’

Loki hesitates, but answers truthfully.

‘’Apologies, Master, but I don’t understand. The slaves are supposed to be useful. Why would you keep me if I’m not?’’

That’s a valid point. Tony looks at him in sympathy.

‘’Rudolph, you’ve been nothing but working your whole life. It’s high time for you to enjoy some spare time. I haven’t, ugh, bought you with intention of putting you to work.’’

It looks like Master assumed Loki was born a slave. Interesting. Of course, the former prince has often been busy with his royal duties, as well as practicing magic and the craft of war, but this obviously isn’t the kind of work Master is referring to. The slave, though, doesn’t have the slightest desire to be looking a gifted bilgesnipe in the mouth. Actually, this kind of cover story fits rather well to his Rudolph persona.

Norns, he’s convincing. He still has that thing inside of him, but for some reason it makes him only sadder. It would have been so much easier to forget someone like Loki has ever existed. Loki, Prince of Asgard, the great sorcerer, Frigga’s son, Thor’s brother.

The criminal, disgraced and disowned, probably long-forgotten by now. He never really fitted it in the first place, so it must have been really easy to let him go.

Being Rudolph is undoubtedly much less complicated, for many reasons, but in Loki’s life everything always ends up being a tangled mess, because this is exactly who Loki is. The God of Lies, Chaos and Mischief, the Liesmith, the Silvertongue.

Look where it landed him, drove to the point of losing everything one by one: his freedom, his magic, his dignity. Not feeling even close to mischievous right now, definitely.

‘’Think about something you would like to do, than,’’ Master says softly, bringing him back to the reality.

Loki instantly jumps at the chance.

‘’Master? I’ve been to the library today. If you’d be so gracious, if I may ask, please, sir, could you please grant me permission to read a book?’’ He asks basically at one breath.

His heart squeezes painfully as the Midgardian sends him a strange look. He should have known not to push his luck so much. He’s about to apologize, when Master speaks up.

‘’Yes, of course, Bambi. I’m sure you’ll make a much better use of those than I ever had and ever will. I just didn’t expect this kind of interest from the slave. I think you’ll still surprise me with many things.’’

The last sentence is accompanied by the encouraging smile, but the Aesir feels his stomach knotting. He has just reveled a part of true him, he has to be much more mindful in the future. Hopefully so far his façade is intact. Master is of course right, reading isn’t much slave-like activity, but Loki hasn’t always been the slave.

‘’Thank you, Master,’’ he says in the most polite and submissive manner he can.

‘’You’re very welcome, kitten. Read whatever you like. Anyway, Rudy, I’ve got a task for you now,’’ the mortal declares. ‘’Come here,’’ he pats the spot on the couch next to him. ‘’You can’t be wearing my clothes all the time. Let’s do some online ordering, since I can’t really take you to the shop,’’ he explains, while Loki gingerly takes a seat. He’s so close to Master he can feel the warmth radiating from the man. With his previous experiences it should fill him with alertness and apprehension, but so far nothing in Master’s behavior indicated he wishes to harm the slave.

‘’All right,’’ mutters the inventor, typing something on the laptop. ‘’I think this is your size,’’ he says before showing the screen to his companion. ‘’Anything that catches an eye? Any preferences?’’

‘’Whatever you deem appropriate for me to wear, Master,’’ the former prince replies submissively.

‘’If I have wanted to choose myself, I would have done it,’’ the superhero snaps, though his gaze immediately relents after noticing Loki’s fearful eyes. ‘’Easy,’’ he mutters reassuringly, patting the other man’s knee. ‘’I’m not angry, okay? Just had quite a day, after being out for so long. Business might be stressful, you know? Dealing with all these morons can frustrate a man. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that. I didn’t mean to take it out of you, kitten.’’

Loki doesn’t know what to do, so he just nods.

‘’Let me establish one more thing, in case it’s not clear,’’ Tony carries on. ‘’When I ask you a question, I want to hear a real answer, not this bullshit you’ve been taught to say. If I haven’t wanted to get the answer, let me repeat it one more time, a real one, I wouldn’t ask. Can you do this for me?’’

_It might be a challenge, after all this time, but_

‘’Yes, Master.’’

‘’Great. You’re such a smart boy, Bambi. Now, back to the point. Have a look.’’

Rudolph does and with help of the superhero and AI manages to complete the wardrobe, one by one. Master is insistent on Loki choosing multiple outfits and seems amused that half of the Aesir’s choices are green, but the slave doesn’t dare to ask what’s so funny. He ends up thanking the inventor profusely, but his efforts are cut short by the wave of the hand.

‘’It’s nothing you need to thank me for,’’ Tony claim dismissively.

Loki thinks otherwise, but he keeps this opinion for himself.

Later, they watch ‘’Bambi’’ on DVD together, even if it’s out of slave’s mind why Master lets him just sit next to him on the couch and provides him with entertainment.

It’s definitely the nicest day he had in years.

Everything falls apart in the morning. Loki wakes up rather early, the habit from Alfheim, and goes straight to the kitchen to make himself the breakfast. He fixes himself a sandwich and is about to take a bite, when sleep-tousled Tony appears.

‘’Rudy, stop,’’ he orders.

The slave’s hand freezes in the air, still clutching the sandwich.

‘’Put it down,’’ Master commands.

The shapeshifter instantly does as told, trying to avoid provoking Master’s ire. Master said Rudolph was to eat anything he wanted, right? So why now? What happened? Aesir’s stomach, which got already used to getting regular meals again, grumbles dangerously. Loki glances longingly at the food, scanning in his head his recent transgressions, for which Master could have decided to forbid him to eat, but nothing particular comes to his mind. Well, maybe Master decided he’s been too indulgent and Rudolph is simply ungrateful, taking such luxuries as free access to food for granted. It wouldn’t be the first time Loki had something revoked on the freeman’s whim.

‘’Have I displeased you with something, Master?’’ he ventures to ask, counting on that the change of owner’s attitude isn’t so radical to land him in troubles for a question asked in a respectful manner.

‘’No, of course not, Rudolph,’’ Tony sighs in exasperation. ‘’What I mean is, maybe we can eat on the top of the tower today? Have you ever been on a picnic?’’

‘’I’m still getting fed?’’ Loki blurts out, shocked by his own bluntness. He had it drilled he has no right to demand anything and he just suggested Master he expects to be allowed to eat and to make matters even worse, he spoke out of turn and omitted mandatory _Master_ at the end of the sentence. If Master hasn’t already decided to punish him, now he definitely will. For insolence.

Tony studies Loki with grief-stricken eyes.

‘’Of course you’re getting fed, Rudolph. I’m sorry I made you think otherwise.’’

Former deity bows his head.

‘’You’re very generous, Master.’’

Never hurt to show his gratitude.

‘’It’s not generosity, Rudolph,’’ the engineer moans. ‘’It’s basic decency. Okay, enough of this sad conversation. You must be hungry. Let me take care of things. You can take your sandwich with you. Don’t worry, pal, you’re going to enjoy this.’’

Before Loki knows it, he’s on his knees, trembling.

_You’re going to enjoy this._

Being a menial worker had it’s good sides. He wasn’t often spotted and forced to serve in bed, but it happened nevertheless, and he vividly remembers every single time. The first time, however, was the worst. When Master Tony said the last sentence, it automatically turned the former Trickster into a shaky, sweaty mess. Loki wasn’t a virgin at the point of sentencing, but being taken against his will, violated to the core, had been by far one of the worst slavery experiences.

He clearly recalls the man, the elf to be exact, repeating these words to him.

_Relax, you’re going to enjoy it. Stop being difficult._

The beating he received later, for not being cooperative enough, wasn’t easy to take, but still not as terrible as the act itself.

‘’Bambi, you’re with me?’’ Tony asks.

Oh no, Master was talking and he dared not to listen. Unforgivable crime. Loki closes his eyes, bracing himself for a blow, but it doesn’t come.

‘’Bambi, are you okay? Rudolph? Darling?’’

Loki tries to find a voice, but it’s a failed attempt.

‘’May I touch you?’’ The billionaire asks with concern.

No answer.

The Midgardian puts a gentle hand on his arm.

‘’Rudolph, breathe.’’

Automatically, the slave follows the order. Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out, breathe in….

Master cups his face with the same tenderness as before.

‘’You’re with me?’’

‘’Yes, Master,’’ Loki chokes out. ‘’I’m sorry.’’

‘’Don’t you even try to apologize,’’ the billionaire says firmly, but his hand caresses Rudolph’s short locks in the reassuring gesture. ‘’Was it a panic attack?’’

‘’Yes, Master,’’ Rudolph admits pitifully.

Tony looks thoughtful.

‘’Listen, I’m not going to force you to tell me what’s wrong,’’ he says after a brief moment. ‘’I just want to tell you that whatever happened, it was only in your head. Look around, no one’s going to hurt you. I had panic attacks as well, I know this sucks. Can you stand?’’ He asks, offering Loki a hand, which the latter takes without a hesitance.

‘’Thank you, Master,’’ the Aesir says, relieved. ‘’I appreciate everything you do for me, sir.’’ It takes him by surprise he actually managed to formulate a coherent sentence.

‘’Told you, been there, done that, bought a T-shirt.’’

Loki hasn’t got the slightest idea what does the piece of clothing have to do with panic attacks, but is too confused by the previous one not to ask.

‘’Here,’’ the engineer offers, sitting Rudolph on the closest chair and handing him a glass of water. ‘’Better?’’

‘’Yes, Master.’’

‘’Perfect. Now, tell me. Are you in for that picnic or no? There’s no right or wrong answer.’’

Loki hesitates. Actually, food and fresh air (or whatever air, because New York isn’t known from having the best air quality) sounds like a fine proposal. Besides, not matter what Master has just said, the man looks hopeful and it would be awful to ruin his plans.

‘’Yes, Master. I would like to have a picnic very much.’’

The superhero hums in understatement.

‘’Okay, let me take care of things. You look like you’re about to keel over again.’’

It turns out Master is right, of course he is, having picnics is something enjoyable, even if the idea of sharing meals with Master is something the slave still needs time to get used to.

During the next few days, he doesn’t see Master much, as the man is constantly out or busy in the workshop. In the meantime, the parcel with clothes arrives.

Loki didn’t suspect it would make him so emotional. He immediately sorts them out and puts on the first outfit.

Seeing himself in the mirror is an odd experience. The face and body, that are his, but in fact aren’t. The now clothes. They’re like nothing he used to wear in the past, but when he looks at himself, he almost feels comfortable in his own skin. He doesn’t look like a slave, which means he has to remind himself more frequently where his place is.

He’s fairly okay with that version of himself, but he doubts he will ever get over losing his magic. However, he’s not about to forget how bad treatment he used to receive not long ago and how much worse it could have been, so he’s definitely not going to complain.

He’s not going to take anything for granted. This is what sometimes happen to concubines or personal slaves. The good treatment make them think they may forget how dependent they are on owner’s goodwill, or what’s worse, as they slowly become spoilt they assume they are in the position to make requests. Loki doesn’t know any single story where his kind of overstepping ended well.

He has made enough mistakes, he’s not adding this one to the list.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s basically Loki misinterpreting Tony’s (rather innocent) words, having a tiny flashback and panicking. Tony instantly provides him with the best comfort he can.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The longest chapter so far.  
> Warning: Loki misinterprets Tony’s actions again and expects Tony to rape him.

‘’Mr Stark? Please, wake up, sir.’’

Being woken by the Jarvis out of the blue definitely isn’t something Tony fancies much in any circumstances.

‘’J, it’s the middle of the night,’’ he mumbles, disoriented. 

‘’It’s precisely a three eighteen a.m., Mr Stark,’’ the AI clarifies.

‘’Is this a reason to wake me up?’’ Questions the billionaire groggily. ‘’Is this some Avengers emergency?’’

‘’No, Mr. Stark. I woke you up to report that Mr. Rudolph is showing signs of distress.’’

Oh, yes, he had told Jarvis to monitor all the situations like that, should they occur. He hoist himself to the sitting position, rubbing his sleepy eyes. He hasn’t seen Rudolph much recently, but so far he hasn’t been notified about anything disturbing in the slave’s behavior. He hasn’t asked for details, hoping to give the man some space and privacy and nothing disconcerting had happened.

Until now.

‘’I think you should go and check on him, sir,’’ the AI advices.

Tony winces.

‘’Thanks, Jarvis, for having so much faith in me. I came to this myself.’’

‘’Better to be safe than sorry, sir,’’ Jarvis replies, unperturbed.

‘’Is he awake?’’ The man asks, slipping out of the bed.

‘’No, sir, it looks like really bad nightmare.’’

Tony doesn’t reply, hurrying to wake the slave up, the bluish glow of his reactor lighting his way through the dark corridors. He had his own share of nightmares and night terrors, after Afghanistan and later, after New York, so he can relate more than he would like to. It’s hard to tell which ones were worse. Thankfully, none of these plagued him recently, so he can fully focus on supporting Rudolph.

The slave indeed looks like he could use a helping hand, thrashing round and muttering something that sounds dangerously similar to apology, pleading for leniency or maybe both at once.

‘’Bambi, wake up’’ the human says, but it doesn’t bring any effect. ‘’Bambi, it’s me. Tony. Hey, wake up,’’ he repeats, giving Rudolph the gentle shake, but the slave is too captivated by the dream to react.

The mortal doesn’t want to scare him with the sudden act, but he has to do something.

‘’I’m turning the light on, okay?’’ He tries, reaching for the light-switch.

No answer, so Tony just does it and eyes Rudolph expectedly, waiting for some kind of reaction.

‘’Master?’’ Loki asks weakly through the sleepy haze, sitting up with difficulty, probably blinded out by light, startled and confused.

‘’In the flesh. You’re finally awake. Great,’’ the mortal answers, trying to stifle the yawn. The worst part is probably over. Now only some consoling until Bambi will be ready to fall asleep again and he can go back to his own warm bed as well.

The Aesir, however, isn’t as enthusiastic. He’s used to being pulled out of the sleep without as much as the word of explanation and trained to get up instantly, but even if he’s glad the nightmare is over, there’s no escape from reality.

So Master got finally tired of coddling and decided to bed him. Loki’s stomach makes a painful twist. He should have expected this anytime, especially with Master not having any man or women to stay overnight is sounds like a very plausible option he would like Rudolph to tend his needs. He just didn’t expect Master to prefer this hour. This is, though, the least of his worries. He should be thankful that the waiting is over, but still, this isn’t the perspective he is even fairly in agreement.

He assumes he just has to grit his teeth and be good. Of course, Master Tony is by far the most handsome man he has ever met, he knew it since he first laid his eyes on the man, back when he was free, but this doesn’t mean that Loki enjoys being used in bed. Maybe he could try to talk his owner into going easy on him…Master seems rather fond of him, after all, maybe Loki still has this charm in him…

No, he has too much to lose and literally no leverage to negotiate. He can only hope Master would be gentle or at least not violate.

With resignation, he disrobes, starting with the top of pyjamas.

‘’Rudolph? What do you think you’re doing?’’ Master sounds disoriented.

Loki tilts his head.

‘’Should I have started with pants, Master? I apologize, sir. I’ll know from now on.’’

Asking for punishment is too much for him. So far Master hasn’t shown the great desire to punish him, so maybe if the Aesir will be just compliant enough he’ll let this shortcoming slide as well.

Something resembling horror flashes in the Midgardian’s brown eyes.

‘’No, Rudolph. Care to explain, mister, why are you getting undressed at all?’’

Deep down Tony knows the answer, but this doesn’t stop him from silently counting on getting another explanation. This can’t be what it looks like. He hasn’t been that bad to make Bambi assume he would…Right? He knows he made God knows how many mistakes, but he really tried.

His terrible hunch is confirmed when the slave speaks again, avoiding mortal’s eyes.

‘’Don’t you wish to bed me, Master?’’

Despite half-expecting something like that, the inventor finds himself shell-shocked hearing these words spoken aloud.

Loki flinches when Tony’s hand reaches to his face, but instead of slapping him, the inventor gently puts a few fingers under slave’s chin and looks him straight in the eye.

‘’We need to talk. I know it’s the middle of the night, but I’m not leaving you with your thoughts till the morning and judging by what you just attempted to do, you’ve been misinformed for I don’t want to know how long. Besides, I doubt any of us will be able to go back to sleep as if nothing happened. How does the hot chocolate sound?’’

It takes the Aesir a second to process the words.

‘’Acceptable, sir.’’

He has no idea what the hot chocolate is, but he’s not risking getting himself in more troubles. Master looks…well, hard to tell. Somewhere in between cross and upset would be probably the safest bet.

Still confused and disheveled, Loki is seated on the sofa in the living room, waiting patiently for the engineer to come back with two cups of steaming liquid. He hands one to Rudolph, informing him it should help. The Aesir has no idea how it could help in solving his problems, but after taking a sip he has to admit it tastes good and fills him stomach with the pleasant warmth.

‘’Kitten, did the nightmares happened to you before?’’ Tony starts without much introduction.

‘’Occasionally, sir,’’ Loki admits.

‘’I sometimes dreamt about falling,’’ the inventor confesses. ‘’It’s not a fun kind of fall, you know?’’

The slave nods. Falling from Bifrost itself wasn’t something he would like to repeat and it was only the beginning of his troubles. He is fairly sure Master is referring to the time Loki was the one to push him out of the window, but even if he’s itching to ask, he stays silent.

‘’Jarvis told me you’re thrashing through your sleep and this doesn’t look good. I just wanted to check whether everything is all right, Bambi,’’ the Midgardian carries on.

‘’I’m fine now, sir,’’ the former prince answers, taking another sip. He indeed had a terrible nightmare. ‘’It was just a dream,’’ he adds. This is what Frigga used to tell him when he was still a child and had one, assuring him he is safe and loved. Back then it maybe even wasn’t a lie. It’s not important now anyway, as he has more important issue to address right now. If he understood what Master said correctly…

‘’Does it mean you don’t desire to bed me, sir?’’

Tony curses under his breath.

‘’I’m sorry for giving you this impression. I can imagine you had your reasons to think this way…Fuck, Rudolph, I don’t even want to ask, but there’s one very important thing you need to remember. I’m not a saint, as far from the blushing virgin as one can be, I had more bed partners than I can count, but I never forced and will never force anybody to sleep with me. Never. The consent is something sacred even for me. You looked so petrified, Bambi…It’s pretty obvious you aren’t thrilled about the perspective.’’

Loki should be satisfied, but something makes him talk. He needs to have certainty to be able to breathe easily again.

‘’You don’t need a consent to bed a slave, Master. It’s why we are here for. It doesn’t matter whether I enjoy the act or not.’’

‘’Bambi, the rules apply to you as well. One way or another, I respect your boundaries and…No, just no. I must have scared the crap out of you, right?’’

The Aesir lets out a small smile.

‘’A bit, sir. I didn’t expect you at this hour, but assumed you grew tired of waiting.’’

‘’If the moral arguments don’t convince you, let me just tell you it’s definitely not a problem for me to find a willing partner. I’m extremely rich, good-looking superhero and these are the traits in high demand.’’

‘’Yes, sir.’’

‘’Perfect. Now, if we’ve got things settled, back to beds, okay?’’

Loki nods absently. Now, when he’s reassured, his adrenaline level is dropping rapidly making him rather drowsy again.

‘’Thank you, Master,’’ he says quietly.

Tony squeezes his shoulder gently.

‘’There’s nothing to thank me for, Bambi.’’

Unfortunately, once the nightmares start, they occur rather frequently and even if the slave claims it’s not necessary, Master’s getting up every single time to make two cups of hot chocolate and keeps Rudolph company until he’s calm enough to fall asleep again. With every next night it gets easier and easier for Loki to open up. Maybe it’s the intimacy of the nighttime that makes him more inclined to share his thoughts, maybe it’s the growing feeling of safety and attachment to his Master, one way or another, he feels much more comfortable than he used to be round the Midgardian.

‘’When we were leaving Pointy Ears Folks Land, I didn’t even ask you whether you want to say goodbye to anybody. I have to admit, this was terribly selfish on my side,’’ the billionaire once remarks.

‘’It’s not required for slave owners to spare slaves’ feelings,’’ Loki replies matter-of-factly.

‘’Yeah, and it’s awful. I’m not proud of myself acting this way. I was just desperate to get out of this damned place.’’

‘’Every slave knows they can be sold or gifted at any moment. Nobody pays attention to the cuts being severed.’’

‘’I’m sorry for you having to go through this, kitten.’’

‘’You shall be pleased than, Master, if you say I didn’t desire to bid farewells to anyone.’’

‘’Fuck, Antlers, that’s even worse. Didn’t you have any friends?’’

‘’I was on the good terms with most of the other slaves, sir, but the true friendship isn’t something common among us, Master.’’

‘’That’s extremely sad, Bambi. You must have been really lonely.’’

 _Not for the first time in life,_ Loki wants to say, but Master is right, he had never been lonely to this extent. On the other hand, he has never been the most social being, which was the silver lining in his predicament. It didn’t hurt _as_ much as it could.

When Loki was the kid, despite being an outsider, he never had any reason to doubt he was loved. Now, he knows Odin loved what he wanted Loki to be, an illusion, just not what Loki turned out to be. It must have been harrowing for Allfather to discover that Loki wasn’t the perfect prince, whose only desire was serving Thor and Asgard with all his might.

Yeah, disappointment is a bitter pill to swallow. Maybe that’s the real reason he’s been treated so harshly.

‘’Every slave needs to take care of themselves to stay in the good shape, Master.’’ Loki pauses for a moment. It’s a relief to be the only slave in the household, as at least there’s no competition to win over Master’s affection, which he really values. He’s fine with this kind of status quo. ‘’Besides, having other slaves around isn’t always beneficial, sir,’’ he explains. ‘’They can be hostile.’’

Master hums noncommittedly.

‘’It looks like we’re all so far from perfect. No matter where I go, no matter what I see, I haven’t come across a place where everyone is happy.’’

Loki doesn’t answer, choosing to finish his hot chocolate in silence.

‘’I apologize for taking so much of your time, Master,’’ he says once timidly, feeling guilty of being the reason for Master waking up and leaving the bed in the middle of the night, for being a cause of his owner losing his precious sleep, for being such a bother.

‘’Don’t fret it, Bambi, I like your company. I’ve been staying up for much more trivial reasons.’’

That is an unexpected, but very much welcomed revelation.

Master’s presence is indeed soothing and helps him overcome his condition immensely. Once the nightmares are mostly over, Loki discovers he likes to sleep in. One reason for that must be that he hasn’t got a decent night sleep in literally years, not since he had fallen from Bifrost and he’s worn out, weakened without magic his body needs to regenerate, to make up for the lost time. Being a slave usually equates being constantly sleep-deprived, but things are different with Master Tony, again. Except that, no matter how irrational it may seem, he feels safe in his room, in his bed. Obviously, he is perfectly aware that he has legally nothing to his name, but he had never been the one for belongings, even in the previous life, with the few exceptions, like books. Anyway, even if he knows Master can just burst in any moment and demand anything and Rudolph would be compelled to oblige, even if he knows he is monitored by Jarvis all the time, he feels safe in here, enjoying wholeheartedly these little moments he can close his eyes, half-asleep, rest his cheek on the warm pillow and nap for a little while. The great advantage of being here is not being forced to hurry all the time, as on Alfheim there were always tasks to do and the overseers willing to remind him of when they deemed he’s working too slowly, which was a very discretionary view. So far neither Master nor Jarvis ordered him to hurry up with anything, nor reprimanded him for giving himself a break.

The rules are as lax as they can be, but this doesn’t mean he can stay idle forever. Even reading books after some time tires him to the point he starts looking out for some other activity.

Having in mind what the AI told him about Master’s eating habits, he asks Jarvis for help in learning how to cook. The whole process resembles the mixture brewing he used to dabble in when he was a prince and what’s more important, the magic user. Losing a title is fairly bearable in comparison to having his abilities bound, though.

At least now he knows for sure what he suspected long time ago. Whoever was respectful to him, did it only because of his position. Once had he fallen as low as one can, there’s not a sympathetic soul, except of Master Tony and probably Jarvis, whatever he is and it’s probably once because they have no idea what kind of monster he is.

It leads him to wondering what’s going on in Asgard right now. The life probably goes on, everything is as good as it can be expected, once the alien element, Jotun masquerading as the true Aesir, is nothing to be concerned about, his former family as well as realm free of his trickery and machinations.

In the way, he’s scheming all the time. First it was ‘’survive, adapt, keep your head down,’’ and now ‘’let me prove my usefulness, Master.’’ His motives, however, have been evolving. Master Tony deserves a slave who would make his life easier, not harder.

Loki vows he won’t be a liability and besides, cooking turns out to be more enjoyable than he had initially suspected. It’s quite a satisfaction as he learns how to make first simple, than more complex meals. Maybe it’s childish, but he’s proud when he’s ready to present Master with the product of his work.

‘’I thought a homecooked meal might be a good alternative to what you usually eat, sir,’’ he says politely, taking the place at the opposite side of the table with his own plate, just as Master insisted on him doing. The usual answer for such a situation from any other Master would be to stop thinking, as it’s not his place, but Master Tony just takes a bit and swallows with the sheer contentment on the face, which allows Loki to relax a bit.

‘’Bambi, I can get used to that,’’ the mortal replies. ‘’I wouldn’t oppose if you do it more often.’’

‘’It’s my pleasure, Master.’’

He’s telling the truth. There’s the simple rule, applying to basically every Master or Mistress. If they’re happy, there’s a great chance they’ll be gentler, kinder, more generous and more permissive towards the slave, but the slaves’ concern about their wellbeing has nothing to do with the geniue care. Loki is truly happy that Master Tony is pleased- pleased with the meal, pleased with him, that he managed to do something to bring the smile on the man’s face, to feel less useless, but there’s also a part of him that he just wishes for the Master to be content just because of the man he is.

Besides, being useful even if doesn’t protect the slave from being sold, lessens the chances for it. It’s a terrible weakness, but he had become attached to the life he leads and Master Tony. This man is a true hero, with a heart in the right place. Loki seriously doubts there is any slave owner as kind and compassionate as his own.

Maybe the universe had come to the conclusion he deserves some respite. Obviously, he’s still a slave and will always be, but he’s allowed relatively lot of freedom.

‘’Master, would you mind if I put a few items on your shopping list?’’ He asks. It’s always better to have a confirmation that he’s doing that’s expected of him.

Master takes another bite before answering.

‘’Nah, I wouldn’t have probably even realized if you hadn’t ask. Go ahead. Anything you need, anytime you want.’’

It’s almost too good to be true.

Everything falls apart when Loki manages to damage Tony’s laptop. He doesn’t mean it, it is an accident, one careless move, but it is enough to make the device malfunction.

The mortal is, obviously, not thrilled about this.

‘’Rudolph, for crying out loud!’’ He exclaims in frustration. ‘’Please don’t tell me it’s broken.’’

It doesn’t take the billionaire long to make sure it indeed is and send the slave not-too-friendly glare, muttering something about the hard work and lack of mindfulness.

Before Loki knows it, he’s on his knees, his entire frame shaking frantically, tears welling up in his eyes. He’s been trying so hard and almost allowed himself to be comfortable in this place, around Master, but now it’s all over. The Midgardian is rightfully livid at him and will undoubtedly finally act like a true slave owner this time, for which the former prince can only thank himself. Everything he touches, ends up badly, after all. After all these attempts to make things right he shouldn’t have expected another outcome.

Tony ceases fiddling with the laptop and gives Rudolph the closer view. He’s pretty sure he’s never seen such a miserable view in his whole, complicated and turbulent life. His anger suddenly evaporates.

‘’Listen, I’m not mad,’’ he tries to console the poor thing kneeling at his feet, but with no avail. ‘’I mean, I’m not exactly happy with this, but I’m sure I have a backup copy somewhere, so all my data is saved, okay? Just be more careful next time, Rudy. Can you do it for me?’’

No answer.

‘’Rudolph,’’ he repeats the name. ‘’Listen to me. Don’t do it again. Is this clear?’’

His voice is a bit firmer this time, which seems to break through the veil of former deity’s panic.

‘’Yes, Master,’’ Loki chokes on the words, slowly raising his head only to drop it again before meeting owner’s eyes. ‘’I’m ready for whatever punishment you wish to impose on me.’’

‘’You think I’m going to punish you?’’

Words are coming slowly from Tony’s mouth. The slave still doesn’t dare to move.

‘’Yes, Master,’’ he finally utters with a breaking voice, trembling even more. Master’s asking for something obvious, but some of freemen liked it when Loki listed him crimes and reasons for being punished. To drill it to his head that he _deserves_ it. ‘’I damaged your possession. Your precious possession, Master.’’ He knows too well this is too grave crime to be forgiven and forgotten, even for a most cherished and pampered consort slaves, and he’s not even close to one. He also is perfectly aware that there doesn’t need to be a particular reason to punish him. He is flawed, he needs correction and he should be thankful for it. He has just given Master evidence what a disgrace he is.

‘’I see,’’ the superhero says, biting his lower lip. ‘’Well, I’d rather be sure you’ll refrain from such an actions in the future.’’

Silence arising after this words is deafening. Loki is on the verge of hyperventilating. He barely can breathe, let alone cry. It’s been so long since he’s been properly chastised, that it makes him even more petrified. It’s time to say goodbye to his pain-free life.

‘’Yes, I’ll punish you,’’ Tony finally announces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oo. What now? What do you think, will Loki get off lightly or maybe Tony’s strict master persona will take over? Any ideas?


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There’s seems to be a general consensus in the comments under the last chapter that Loki’s fears are largely unfounded. Let us see :)

Rudolph looks at him with teary eyes, but nods, as if giving him a silent permission.

Something inside Tony rebels against the concept of punishing another being, especially for a honest accident. He’s sure as hell that if he had a kid, he or she would have been spoilt rotten, just because he couldn’t bring himself to deny them anything they asked for and would forgive them everything on the spot. On the other hand, he had already multiple chances to discover conventional methods don’t exactly work when comes to Rudolph and Tony has nothing but his intuition to guide him through this. It’s like shooting with sharp ammunition, the consequences of the wrong move could be dire and irreversible. The slave has shown considerable progress, in view of the state he had been when Tony bought him, but it seems that one accident like this and it’s like being to square one. Bambi is nowhere near okay.

‘’Okay,’’ the mortal says. No matter what he’s going to do it’s probably not half as scary as the horrors going through Rudolph’s head in this very moment. He doesn’t want to prolong slave’s agony, but it’s not so easy to find something that seems severe enough to convince Rudolph it’s all over, repented, absolved, matter closed, but in fact is quite innocent. Coming up with not to do is so much easier than finding a right solution in this difficult matter.

At first he muses about restricting sweets, but a voice in his head whispers this is a bad idea for a couple of reasons. First of all, after all slave’s been through (the Midgardian has seen enough and he isn’t sure he wants to know the rest), using food as a punishment doesn’t seem right. Another thing, he suspects, and maybe even more than just suspects, is that Rudy won’t believe that’s it and still expect something dreadful to be shoved on him, so the whole thing would be counterproductive.

Later, he thinks about a little spanking, a literally few smacks on the back, Rudy would barely feel anything, but Tony’s afraid to do it. He’s never been an advocate of corporal punishment and again, he knows what he’s considering isn’t supposed to be wither scary nor painful, but poor Rudolph with his previous experiences would probably either be convinced it’s not over and worst is yet to come or even worse case scenario, it would confirm his fears about Tony using violence on him are grounded, because he can’t know how far his Master can actually push it. So, another no. Hell, this is difficult.

‘’Rudolph, stand up,’’ he orders in the meantime. At least this is what he can do for now.

Loki shakily obeys, even if he looks like he’s going to keel over in a second.

‘’Now sit down,’’ Tony gestures to the couch. ‘’I need a while to think.’’

Judging by the look on slave’s face, it’s just as billionaire predicted it would be. Bambi presumably assumes Master needs more time to come up with something adequate, by adequate meaning terrifying, hurtful, deterring and effective. Well, he’s probably not wrong about the last one. The Midgardian indeed isn’t thrilled with the incident and would rather have his electronics and other belongings intact. Still, the paralyzing fear, the anticipation, being left alone with his own thoughts running free, producing worst case scenario must be punishment enough t.

‘’I’m a civilized man,’’ he speaks up, trying to soothe the tension. Loki doesn’t reply, sitting on the edge of the sofa, his hands folded neatly in his lap, eyes fixed on the plush carpet. ‘’I’m not going to be harsh on you, promise,’’ he adds, hoping against hope it will help. There’s no indication the slave does even comprehend what’s been said to him. ‘’We do things different, here, on Earth, Midgard, as you have probably noticed by now.’’

The Aesir fidgets. Apparently these words weren’t calming at all. The slave’s usually electric green eyes are foggy and watery, his lower lip is wobbling, which makes Tony feel terribly guilty. It looks like his attempts to make things better turned out to be misguided, to put it mildly.

_Patience, Tony, patience._

There might be a solution, something that will undoubtedly be inconvenience for the slave, but objectively isn’t scary at all.

‘’All right, Rudolph, you’re grounded,’’ he finally decides, hoping to sound authoritative. ‘’You’re officially not allowed to read books for the next three days, starting today.’’

Bloody hell.

No. Please not. Rudolph first looks at him with the unreadable expression and then, without any warning, bursts into tears. What had he done wrong now? This punishment is fairly symbolic, at least in comparison to what poor Bambi has been through.

Wait. Maybe that’s the point.

‘’Thank you, Master, thank you,’’ the slave keeps repeating frantically in gratitude.

Even if the billionaire was still a bit cross before, this feeling is gone, replaced by a growing protectiveness. He pulls the man closer, letting him cry it out, release the pent up layers of being hurt, misunderstood, treated unjustly, always too harshly and never too leniently. Apparently mercy is a foreign concept for Bambi here and he is deeply moved by it or rather what he considers it to be. There are plenty of reasons why he views Stark as remarkably kind and indulgent, even if Tony himself would argue his neither of this. He murmurs some platitudes, like ‘’it’s okay, you’re safe, no harm done,’’ hoping that if not words than at least a gentle tone will soothe the slave a bit.

Loki cries a while longer in Tony’s arms, who lets him stay clung to him for a while after sobs finally subside, until he lightly pushes the other man back on the furniture.

‘’I apologize, Master, for acting like that,’’ Bambi says timidly, wiping tears with the back of his hand.

‘’Don’t apologize. It’s a miracle you managed to hold on for so long. I hope you’re better after letting it out.’’

The Aesir shakily confirms.

‘’Yes, sir, I do. I’ll be more careful now,’’ he promises.

‘’I wouldn’t mind that, but accidents happen. Don’t beat yourself over it. Bambi, it’s not Alfheim anymore. Whatever happened to you back there, it was wrong, plain cruel and unnecessary.’’

The slave would like to believe in that very much.

When he comes back to his room, he just lies on the bed and closes his eyes, slowly processing what happened.

He still can’t believe his luck. He wasn’t pushed away. In fact he was comforted despite his unforgivable misconduct. It’s so strange he can barely get it, but it’s exactly what happened.

However, it leads him straight to the horrible realization. He got attached to Master more than it’s generally considered acceptable. Obviously, slaves are supposed to be loyal towards their Masters and attend their needs, but attachment is generally considered too personal. They’re _feelings_ involved and that’s something unheard of between the slave and the owner. There’s no room for this kind of involvement coming from any of the sides. Even the bed slaves (whom Loki doesn’t envy, despite their relatively soft lives), are just a toys, easily tossed away once their Master or Mistress gets bored or has an eye on something new.

He never considered himself sentimental, not back as the royalty, not under Thanos forced rule, not after enslaving, but somehow he managed to get attached. It may mean that’s not strictly about his psyche construction. It must be Master Tony who has this particular effect on him.

As if to confirm this suspicion, Jarvis speaks up.

‘’I’m glad Mr Stark has found you, sir. After his break up with Miss Potts he has been in a dark place.’’

Loki doesn’t bother to open his eyes.

‘’I’m glad he found me as well.’’

He’s telling the truth. Despite his initial concerns, he’s very content with the change of owner and it isn’t only the matter of Master Tony showing him a great kindness and indulgence. Anthony Stark is an interesting man and Loki sincerely enjoys him company, something he assumed he would never do with any freeman. Master definitely doesn’t treat him like a toy which can be easily discarded and replaced. He actually cares about him, like no one in his life, maybe except Frigga, before she was faced with the evidence of Loki’s vile deeds. He can hardly blame her for that.

Master Tony, however, cares. He’s mindful of Loki’s needs and has never put quite an effort to put up with well-meaning, but disoriented and badly-adjusted slave.

This realization makes former deity’s heart flutter. It’s the nicest feeling he had in years. Perhaps the universe finally has some mercy on him, taking into account not all of his actions were entirely his fault.

The first time since enslavement Rudolph allows himself to think that he isn’t as guilty as he is deemed to. He’s willing to take responsibility and repent (even if his life hardly seems a punishment now, barring the loss of magic), but whoever had met Thanos knows every action is a loss-loss choice when the Mad Titan is involved.

One way or another, Loki has accepted he’s not the good guy. He’s not Thor.

‘’I’m sorry about you being not allowed to read, Mr Rudolph,’’ Jarvis speaks again. ‘’It wasn’t fair for Mr Stark to punish you. I witnessed him destroying things much more often and cause much bigger damages. You should have seen his workshop, sir.’’

Not so long ago the slave would have assumed AI’s words are the ruse to get him caught on complaining at his Master, but now he knows Jarvis is sincere.

‘’It’s Master’s right,’’ he explains, even if it feels nice to have somebody sympathetic towards him.

‘’It’s a cruel and unusual punishment, considering how much you love to read, Mr Rudolph, and these shouldn’t occur in civilized society.’’

The Aesir smiles at this statement.

‘’I’ll live, Jarvis. It’s only three days, after all. I had it much worse. In fact, I’m counting myself lucky he was in such a merciful mood.’’

‘’Whatever you say, Mr Rudolph,’’ the AI replies, unconvinced.

He had to spent literally years without books. In fact, it’s only Master’s goodwill he was allowed to read in the first place. Of course, he would have preferred to have an unrestrained access and being grounded doesn’t bring him any joy, but he’s far more concerned about damaging Master’s property.

He can’t even imagine what would have happened to him with any other Master. Every time he assumed they couldn’t get more creative and vindictive, they always managed to surprise him.

Or maybe they would go for the simple whipping. Not something Loki would have taken lightly as well. This amount type pain isn’t something one can get used too, even after being punished regularly. Maybe Master Tony realized he’s truly trying to be good and appreciates his efforts. Maybe that was what convinced him to be so lenient.

It’s really difficult not to get attached in the situation like this.

For the moment Loki stares absent-mindedly at the ceiling. He still hasn’t got the full grasp on what Jarvis is and what’s his standing in this household, but something has clarified since he first found out about his existence. There is clear evidence the AI isn’t above him, even if he still can’t place him in the household hierarchy, so he pulls himself together to ask him question.

‘’Jarvis, are you my friend?’’

‘’If you want to me to, sir, I’ll gladly be one.’’

It looks like he’s got himself a companion. During his childhood, he used to play with another children, but these were usually sons and daughters of the noble Lords and Ladies of Asgard. He wasn’t excluded from the plays, strictly speaking, but Thor has always shown this attention-seeking streak. Loki was mischievous, but catty, which as well as the status of magic-user didn’t play in his favor. The older he got, the less friends-playmates- he had. Thor’s friends bullied him mercilessly behind the blond prince’s back, especially after finding out it happened to him to be sexually involved with men, a shameful activity. They made sure he was aware of the fact they tolerate him only because of Thor and Loki’s royal status and his relation to Thor.

The great God of Thunder was of course too oblivious to notice something wasn’t right. Sif and Three Warriors adored him, after all, and Thor lives in the simple, Thor-centric world. If he is happy, everything is fine.

Sometimes Loki was envious of that simple philosophy. It definitely would have made everything a lot of easier for him. As he looks at it from retrospect, he should have come up earlier with the thought he must be an adopted one. There were so many clues on the way, after all, but he just wanted so much to belong, that he conveniently chose to ignore them. Despite all the differences and disagreement, he loved his family and had foolishly assumed they love him as well. Now he knows better, but it doesn’t make it hurt less.

After finding out about Loki’s preferences, Odin made sure the wayward son knew how far had he fallen and forced him to never breathe a word about his actions to another person, promise the approval-seeking boy kept. 

Not that it changed anything. He still ended up as an outcast, a misfit. Look, it’s a former prince, unworthy of his title, unworthy of even being an Aesir, the shame of the family. Maybe he was destined to fall from the very beginning.

Thankfully, Jarvis doesn’t know about him being an abnormality, Thor isn’t a part of his life anymore and the AI is perfectly aware about his status of the slave. Despite this, he has been showing Rudolph the support he hasn’t received from many.

‘’I would like to, Jarvis, I would like to very much,’’ he answers, beaming. For the first time in ages he feels less lonely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Isn’t it a perfect moment for something to go wrong?


	10. Chapter 10

The sky is azure, with not even one could for the rain. It’s a lazy Sunday afternoon and Loki has Master’s explicit permission (‘’C’mon, Bambi, lazing away on Sunday afternoon is Midgardian tradition) to read a book curled up in the armchair in the living room. The Master himself is sitting nearby, engrossed in the thoughts about his newest technology, so the slave is extra mindful to stay quiet and don’t disturb him. When something flashes on sky, though, followed by the roar of thunder, his head automatically goes up and the book falls out of his hands.

The mortal rolls his eyes.

‘’This guy is such a drama queen. Can’t he seriously just arrive without throwing a few thunders and use the front door like all me guests?’’

This definitely sounds familiar.

‘’Are you afraid of thunders?’’ The billionaire asks, noticing Loki’s jumpiness.

This sounds familiar too and just as the Aesir is tempted to answer he’s not overly fond of what follows, he just shakes his head no and gives perfectly neutral reply.

‘’Apologies, Master, I was just startled.’’

‘’Okaaay,’’ the engineer says. ‘’So, Bambi, there’s a thing. These all outside mean that in the moment…’’

Before he can finish the sentence, the God of Thunder crosses the threshold.

Thor looks the same as the last time Loki saw him, only much more joyful. His former brother wouldn’t have been surprised if these four years were a happy time for him. No matter how many times Loki had been repeating to himself he has accepted his fate, meeting Thor hurts immensely because of at least for two reasons.

‘’Man of Iron,’’ The Thunderer booms, pulling Tony into the bone-crushing hug. ‘’I missed you.’’

The mortal gasps.

‘’Thor, I missed you too, but you’re suffocating me.’’

Rudolph catches himself staring. He quickly lowers his head and raises to his feet. This still is an enormous breach of etiquette, but he refuses to kneel in front of Thor. He probably should leave, just like a good slave, but something stops him. He had suffered enough humiliation to drop to his knees in front of anybody without a second of hesitance, especially in front of the noble or the royalty, but this is a different kind of humiliating.

Norns, Thor is here, so close he can almost touch him. This can’t be good news, but a part of him is rejoicing. He takes a deep breath, anticipating whatever is to come.

Don’t panic, Loki. Don’t. You see this man for the first time in your life, remember? Keep your head down and you’ll be fine. Besides, Thor never paid any attention to the slaves, so why start now, right? 

After liberating himself from the embrace, Tony glances at his slave.

‘’Rudolph, this is Thor, Prince of Asgard. I mentioned him once or twice, remember?’’ He asks softly.

‘’Yes, Master,’’ comes the usual answer, as Loki keeps staring at the carpet.

Tony frowns. It appears that the presence of the third party pushes Rudolph back in his slave-schemes. He isn’t even surprised, it takes years to break the habits and he’s pretty sure Rudolph has been brainwashed to the extent Thor’s (Asgardian prince, after all) arrival makes him automatically slip back into the old ways.

The inventor understands this, but he’s not going to stay passive about it.

‘’Say hello to Thor,’’ he prompts in what he hopes is firm but unthreatening voice.

‘’Your Royal Highness, Prince Thor,’’ Loki chokes out. It’s so weird, even if it’s a proper etiquette. The slaves aren’t often allowed to address the royals directly, but if that’s Master’s wish…

‘’C’mon,’’ Tony sighs. ‘’Seriously? Your Royal Highness? I thought you know better.’’

‘’Apologies, Master,’’ comes a timid answer. ‘’Please punish me….’’

‘’Stop,’’ the Midgardian interrupts. ‘’None of these. I just want you to know that Thor is my friend and always very welcome here, but there’s no need to give him any special treatment.’’

Not risking speaking again, the former Trickster nods.

‘’I didn’t know you got yourself the slave, friend Stark,’’ Thor exclaims. ‘’Isn’t this joyful news? But isn’t he supposed to serve us?’’

Tony shrugs.

‘’DUM-E will do. Thor, I’ll talk to you later about that. How could you, pal, sent me the on the trip without telling me slavery is common?’’

‘’Friend Stark, I assumed it’s obvious.’’

‘’Obvious? No, it isn’t, Point Break. Not to me anyway.’’

The blond prince’s face falls.

‘’I thought that after Loki…’’

The disowned brother doesn’t dare to move, anticipating whatever words are to be spoken with every fiber of his being.

‘’Loki?’’ The billionaire raises his brow. ‘’What does he have to do with it?’’

‘’Weren’t you informed, Man of Iron?’’ Thor suddenly sounds terribly upset.

‘’Nah, Goldilocks, spill the beans.’’

The God of Thunder looks confused by the choice of wording, but explains.

‘’Loki was enslaved as the punishment for his actions,’’ he says quietly, as if admitting this was painful to him.

Loki barely can breathe.

‘’You can’t be serious,’’ the inventor blurts. ‘’He? Wasn’t he the prince?’’

‘’This wasn’t enough to save him, friend Stark.’’

The billionaire seems positively shocked.

‘’Odin allowed this?’’

‘’It was his will,’’ Thor explains flatly.

‘’Daddy of the year. I always assumed Lolo is just locked up somewhere.’’

‘’This would certainly be preferable to slavery.’’

‘’Sure it would. Loki as the slave? I can’t imagine that. He wouldn’t survive the first week of it. He’s not cut out to this type of life. Too proud, too cunning. I’m sure he wouldn’t manage to bow and kneel and doing as ordered, whole nine yards. Sorry, I’m not buying it,’’ the mortal announces with a strange finality in his voice.

If someone was to tell the God of Mischief he would serve as the slave five years ago, he wouldn’t have believed them as well. Maybe he would have even found this funny. This conversation is so awkward that in the other circumstances he would have appreciated the irony, but right now he focuses on every word, every gesture.

‘’But this is what happened, friend Stark,’’ Thor carries on glumly.

‘’Whoa, I’m sure he would rather die,’’ Tony makes an offhand comment.

‘’This is why he is enslaved. Because death was deemed too merciful.’’

Loki has to admit he was ready to die at the point of the trial, but now he’s glad he’s alive and with Master Tony.

‘’You certainly don’t coddle criminals in that Fairyland, Point Break. That was refined. It makes me happy to be born and live on this mundane Earth. Cruel and unusual punishments are banned here or at least not meted out in the majesty of law,’’ the inventor remarks.

Thor looks understandably troubled. Loki can barely blame him for that. He’s still learning Midgardian customs and the culture he and Thor had grown up with is rather different in many aspects. The former Trickster had expected many things form Master that never came and he’s still unsure about many others. Of course, for the Thunderer slavery is neither cruel nor unusual. It’s just a perfectly normal picture on the Asgardian landscape. Loki himself wasn’t much more considerate towards its existence until he had experienced it first-handed, if he’s to be honest with himself.

‘’I wish I knew where he is,’’ Thor mutters solemnly. ‘’Father informed me and Mother he sold Loki somewhere far from Asgard, to make it difficult for us to look out for him.’’

Tony muffles the snort with difficulty.

‘’Please don’t tell me you would rescue him if you could.’’

‘’Without a blink. I know what you think of him, Man of Iron, I know he had wronged you terribly, but Loki is my brother.’’

For the first time in years, Loki is tempted to shapeshift back. He knows he can’t, no matter how much his heart wants to reclaim his relationship with Thor, but he knows the relief would have been short-lived. _It’s better this way_ , he repeats in his head obstinately. He has to keep up the appearances. There’s no coming back to what he and Thor had anyway.

‘’Even now?’’ The engineer sounds doubtful.

‘’Even now.’’

‘’This makes me glad I’m an only child.’’

‘’Allfather, he knew I consider Loki the brother as well. This is why he made such an effort to prevent me from rescuing him.’’

‘’Do you think he told you the truth? Maybe it’s a trick and Loki is still somewhere in Asgard. Maybe he wanted to mislead you.’’

‘’My Father is the man of honor, friend Stark. He would never deceive me.’’

The fallen deity refrains himself from making a face. Seriously, Thor’s iron-clad faith in Odin’s nobility is so naïve that it’s almost moving and he was there to see with his own eyes how the Allfather sentenced Loki to this fate, the move being the polar opposite of noble.

‘’Hey, for me it makes lots of sense,’’ Tony argues. ‘’You travel far and wide while Loki is somewhere in Asgard in front of your nose. Sounds like a mastermind deception.’’

Thor looks unconvinced. Truth being told, this is much better reaction Loki assumed it would be. Thor he knew would have already made his displeasure known in the loud and clear way.

Perhaps he’s not the only one who changed, even if the word ‘’change’’ and his brother doesn’t go well together or at least hasn’t got till recently.

The inventor sighs.

‘’Listen, just leave it be. Loki gets what he deserves.’’

‘’Mather is heartbroken,’’ replies the blond god unhappily. ‘’She never got over his sentencing.’’

Loki has to bit his tongue to refrain from reminding Thor that she didn’t speak in his defense at his trial. The Thunderer, however, surprises him with the next statement.

‘’When I brought Loki to Asgard, after New York, Mother and Father had a huge fight about him. She was always fiercely protective about Loki, but in the end, she had to relent to Allfather’s will.’’

The slave feels the bitter taste in his mouth. He can’t say whether this makes him feel better or worse. Frigga cared enough to put an effort. Could she really convince Odin to spare his younger son this horrid fate? Loki doesn’t think he will ever find out the answer to this question.

‘’I should have never brought him to Asgard in the first place,’’ Thor says solemnly.

‘’He had to be contained, remember?’’ Tony reminds him. ‘’He was crazy and dangerous, out of control. You couldn’t just let him loose. None of us could.’’

‘’Still, friend Stark, everything but not this.’’

The billionaire lets out the long-suffering sigh.

‘’Thor, it’s not like you can help him now, even if you want to. He can be in literally every place in the all nine realms. Is wasting so much time on him worth it? C’mon, think about his victims. Don’t you remember how New York looked like after he barged in with his godforsaken army? It serves him right. If anyone deserves slavery, it’s him. I bet he’s not so haughty anymore.’’

_I never was._

He was many things. Proud, yes, definitely, but never haughty.

Thor sends Stark a glare which make Rudolph wonder whether this conversation will end as the blazing row. His brother (former, of course) has never been known from the greatest self-restraint. Norns know he had caused quite a destruction on multiple time, but he was also the one who got mostly scot-free with everything, being this right prince, the favored son and valiant warrior.

‘’Point Break, I’m sorry, okay?’’ Tries the Midgardian, probably sensing the tension as well. ‘’I’m sorry you went through this, but justice has been served.’’

So it was it. Justice. Master himself has just admitted it. Rudolph’s stomach makes a twist.

‘’Anyway, it’s a good talk, but Bambi, can you leave us now? Sorry, it might be private,’’ the inventor says as if he has just remembered there’s a third person in the room.

Being ordered to go it’s almost the relief.

Never had he been so grateful for Thor being do thick. When Loki gives it a second thought, he comes to the conclusion this isn’t in fact any bit surprising he wasn’t recognized. Loki is Loki and he’s somewhere far in the world, and Rudolph is Rudolph, a completely random slave who had a stroke of luck to end up with Master Tony. Loki isn’t Rudolph, because why would he be? With his basically non-existent knowledge about seidr, it’s fair to assume the Thunderer doesn’t know about the tiny loophole which allowed his former brother to shapeshift. Maybe there is something about Loki that could give his identity away to the watchful observer, but Thor isn’t one. Actually, Master also didn’t recognize Loki in Rudolph and he’s by far much cleverer than Thor, so maybe slave’s fear is really unfounded. Master is right, the former prince can be literally everywhere in the Universe, and there’s always the darkest under the candle.

Perfect, just perfect. Not only now he knows Frigga and Thor are apparently too noble to let the criminal son and brother go, that Thor wastes his time in attempt to waste find him and he can’t even reveal himself, but he also started to feel homesick. Asgard wasn’t the perfect place, but it was the only home he knew, at least until recently.

One thing, however, Loki had an opportunity to learn, is that better to be safe than sorry. Master Tony is neither strict nor demanding and the Aesir has no desire for this to change. The slave couldn’t believe his luck at first, some part of him still half-expected Master to act as the typical slave owner, but with every day his fear lessened.

Till today. Master still hates him with fiery passion and Loki knows he worked hard for this.

“Mr. Rudolph, are you all right?’’ Jarvis voice rings out unexpectedly. Loki almost jumps. He doubts he will even get used to that.

‘’I’m fine, Jarvis,’’ he mutters.

‘’My parameters signalize you’re showing a considerate amount of distress, sir. You heart rate is very elevated.’’

‘’I’ll be fine,’’ he promises.

‘’Shall I inform Mr. Stark, sir?’’

Loki gasps.

‘’No, please, no.’’

‘’I insist, sir.’’

The slave focuses on his breathing. In, out, in, out, in, out… It manages to steady him a bit.

‘’I’m already better, Jarvis. See?’’ He asks.

‘’If you say so, sir,’’ the AI replies. The Aesir can swear Jarvis sounds unconvinced, but lets it go or at least Loki hopes so. He waits for Master to come and check on him (funny, since when does he expects Master to act in such a manner? It’s very unbecoming of the free person, but at the same time perfectly fitting for Master Tony), but nothing happens, so he assumes his secret is safe with Jarvis. 

This is what he counted on, this was his goal, but the realization he can’t turn to Master for consolation upsets him more than he would have expected. Good. He had always considered himself a realist, so now he’s back on the right track.

He’s here to pay back his debts, not to be comforted and supported and he’ll be extra alert to remember about this from now on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *building the tension*


End file.
